COMPUTING WORKFLOW

This page contains information on how to set up an efficient workflow for social science research.

Presentation slides

Click here for slides from a workshop I gave at CU's Political Science department.

Software and web applications I have found useful

Automated backups

• Time Machine
• Dropbox

Bibliography management

• Bibdesk
• Papers
• JabRef

Notetaking

• Evernote
• Simplenote
• Notational velocity (via Moonhawk Kim)

Text editors

• Textwrangler (Mac)
• Sublime (Mac)
• Notepad++ (Windows)
• Emacs
• Vim

Typesetting

• LaTeX (see the materials from my LaTeX workshop).

Workflow for statistical analysis in R

Some examples:

• Discussion on stackoverflow.com
• An example with discussion.
• A project template on Github.

Also see my notes from a workshop on graphics in R at CU in 2011.

Version control

Have a look at GitHub to maintain version control and collaborate on your code with others. The Political Methodologist has a nicely documented write-up and tutorial on using GitHub for version control, collaboration, and data storage in its spring 2013 issue.

More links

• Various helpful links, software and workflow tips can be found on Moonhawk Kim's computing page.
• Jake Bowers has written a very detailed paper on establishing and maintaining good workflow practices.