International Love Data Week in Canada

Monday February 12, 2024, 10 a.m. – 10:50 a.m.

Recent granting agency policies on research data management highlight opportunities for data discovery and reuse to foster research excellence. In this presentation, we will discuss best practices for sharing research data from the perspectives of description, organization, accessibility, interoperability, and reuse. We will also introduce some research data discovery platforms.
Presented by Judith Michaud, Mireille Léger-Rousseau and Camile-Hélène St-Aubin

Monday February 12, 11:00am

La descripción inclusiva se basa en reconocer que si bien el trabajo en archivos y bibliotecas nunca es neutral, existen maneras de mitigar el daño que estas prácticas pueden generar en diferentes comunidades (Sociedad Americana de Archivistas). Una forma de hacer esto es a través de la utilización de descripciones inclusivas, las cuales priorizan el lenguaje que las diferentes comunidades utilizan para describirse entre otras cosas. En el transcurso de este taller exploraremos qué significa crear descripciones inclusivas en español a través del trabajo realizado por el US Latino Digital Humanities Center (USLDH) con archivos sobre Latinas/os en Latinoamérica y los Estados Unidos. De esta manera, descubriremos estrategias de metadatos inclusivas para trabajar con materiales que representen o pertenezcan comunidades latinoamericanas considerando las variaciones lingüísticas tanto en Latinoamérica como el español de la diáspora. Este taller virtual se ofrecerá en español. Este evento es una colaboración del US Latino Digital Humanities Center (USLDH) y la Universidad McGill. 

Monday February 12, 12 – 1pm

Whether you conduct research individually or as part of a collaborative group or lab, this workshop will provide attendees with practical tips and examples on how to organize data across files and folders. Attendees will learn how to set up folders according to a logical schema, create README documentation to map out folder hierarchies, and implement a file naming convention. Attendees will also have a chance to discuss discipline-specific issues related to organizing data actively during the research process. Please note: even if you do not work with data, we encourage anyone with interest in organizing research outputs to attend, as this could be relevant or applicable.

Monday February 12,12-1 pm. In person only:  Rankin Family Pavilion Room 214

Dr. Patrick Keilty (University of Toronto) discusses the newly published collection Queer Data Studies (University of Washington Press, 2024). Data, perilous and powerful, is both a worldmaking and a dismantling force. The collection of data about queer lives and bodies, the consequences of data analysis for queer subjects, and considerations of privacy and consent often present ethical dilemmas even as queer data expands our understanding of who and what counts. The need for queer analyses and perspectives has taken on a new sense of urgency in light of hostile antiqueer policies by major technology companies, the security theater of airports, the disproportionate rates of policing queer people and people of color, digital surveillance in border security, and the proliferation of digital health records.

Tuesday February 13, 2024, 11 a.m. – 12 p.m.

Are you new to the world of edge computing (IPC)? Are you looking for an affordable and accessible way to learn, practice and experience CIP? Do you miss the days when learning CIP consisted of connecting a few gray boxes together and then configuring them? Do you want to be able to transfer all the complexity inherent in production CIP systems into an accessible environment designed to facilitate teaching and development? Stop searching and discover Magic Castle!
Magic Castle is open-source software that replicates the CIP infrastructure experience through community or commercial cloud resources. It’s easy to use and runs in just a few minutes. Once Magic Castle is running, the user has access to a complete computing cluster software environment including the scheduler, a data transfer node, JupyterHub and thousands of scientific software compiled by the experts of the Digital Research Alliance from Canada. Since its inception in 2018, Magic Castle has been used for thousands of workshops and tutorials around the world.
During this presentation, we will present the architecture and general functioning of Magic Castle. We’ll also cover different use cases and how Magic Castle is used in the field to teach CIP.
Presented by Félix-Antoine Fortin

Tuesday February 13, 11am-12pm

Data sonification is a form of data representation that uses sounds varying in pitch, volume, or length to illustrate a dataset.  Like data visualization it allows us to quickly interpret what the data is telling us.  Data sonification also adds another layer of accessibility to data visualization. This workshop will introduce participants to data sonification, discuss best practices, and introduce them to data sonification tools.

Tuesday February 13, 11am – 12:30pm

In this practical, play-along, workshop, participants will learn several key basic functions of OpenRefine, and gain the opportunity to see how it can be used to transform data. This workshop will use content developed by Carpentries and University of Victoria and aims to give participants foundational knowledge to tackle projects.

Tuesday February 13, 11 AM – 12 PM

Do you want to learn more about different types of data and what it’s like to work with them? Join our panel of researchers who will share the unique ways they learn about the diverse types of data they use, how they work with the data and other interesting facts about their data! 

Tuesday February 13th, 12 – 1pm

Open up whole new avenues of data collection for your research. This presentation is an overview of available tools for gathering data from websites—think tweets (i.e. X posts), news articles, job ads, and more—in order to create datasets ready for analysis. Technologies discussed and demonstrated include both no-code options (Parsehub, Webscraper.io) and some coding (Python, and the Python package Beautiful Soup). You will come away with multiple additional introductory tutorials to try for yourself, based on which tool is right for you.

Tuesday February 13, 1 – 2 PM

Do you want to learn more about different types of data and what it’s like to work with them? Join our panel of researchers who will share the unique ways they learn about the diverse types of data they use, how they work with the data and other interesting facts about their data! 

Tuesday, February 13, 2024, 10:00-11:30 AM (PST)

Recent years have seen rising concerns about housing affordability in Canada, spurring policy debates at the federal, provincial and municipal level. In this context, academic researchers have increasingly sought out reliable housing data. The presentation will introduce three sources of housing data at Statistics Canada – The Canadian Housing Statistics Program (CHSP), the Canadian Housing Survey (CHS) and the Census of Population. Presenters from Statistics Canada will provide an overview of the types of data available from each source and provide examples of how they can be used by scholars and students. 

Josh Gordon is a Senior Analyst with the Canadian Housing Statistics Program (CHSP).

Jeff Randle manages the Housing Need Projects section responsible for the Canadian Housing Survey, National Social and Affordable Housing Database, National Housing Strategy program data integration projects, and Homelessness Projects and Partnerships.

David Heisel is a housing analyst with the Census of Population.

Tuesday February 13, 3 – 4pm

In this workshop, we will explore the potential uses of generative artificial intelligence tools in research data management (RDM) with Microsoft Copilot as a specific example. For example, can AI tools be used to write Data Management Plans, summarize funder requirements, or suggest file naming conventions and folder structures? We will also address related topics such as using AI tools to write conference abstracts, assist with data analysis, create data description documentation, summarize metadata, and more.

We will also discuss the ethical considerations, including benefits and risks, of using AI tools in research and whether it is possible to use AI for RDM practices in an ethical manner.

Tuesday, February 13, 2024, 1:00-3:00 PM (PST)

This workshop focuses on regression models to provide participants with a foundational understanding of machine learning concepts, techniques, and tools used for linear and nonlinear regression. Through a combination of lectures and hands-on exercises, participants will gain practical experience with regression algorithms, one of the most popular machine-learning techniques. The workshop begins with an overview of regression and continues with training regression models, interpreting the results, and making predictions using real-world datasets. By the end of this workshop, you will have a solid understanding of regression models and be familiar with popular Python libraries and tools to implement them.

Prior familiarity with Python programming is recommended for participants to fully benefit from the practical component of the workshop.

Wednesday February 14, 10:30 – 11:30 AM 

ICPSR stores, curates, maintains and provides access to the world’s largest collection of digital social science data. These data can be used for secondary research, instructional activities, and to write articles, papers or theses. Join us for an engaging session to increase your skills at searching, downloading and beginning analysis of ICPSR data. 

Wednesday February 14, 2024, 11:30 a.m. – 12 p.m.

This presentation will give you an overview of the world of long-lasting unique identifiers (IUP or *PIDs*) and the difficulties that professionals may encounter when arriving in their still developing network. The main identifiers covered will be the DOI, ORCID identifier, and ROR.
Presented by Charlie Lessard-Berger

Wednesday February 14, 12 – 2pm

Are you ready to take your spreadsheet skills to the next level? Join our Love Data Week workshop and learn how to Excel-erate your productivity with Microsoft Excel. In this 2-hour introductory hands-on workshop, you will learn new tips and tricks to help you learn Excel and basic data analysis skills.

Our workshop will cover a range of topics, including common calculations and built-in functions, additional data analysis tools, and creating compelling visualizations of data. You will also get an overview of the uses and types of data that can be manipulated in Excel and learn important terminology.

No prior experience with Excel or data analysis is necessary.

Wednesday February 14, 2024, 12:30 p.m. – 1:15 p.m.

Since its appearance in libraries, research data management (RDM) has remained a matter almost exclusively carried out by librarians. Those days are over!
This workshop aims to present the basics of research data management, the context of the École de Technologie Supérieure, as well as possible avenues of involvement as a documentation technician in the GDR file. .
Presented by Vanessa Ayotte

Wednesday, February 14, 2024, 10:00-11:00 AM (PST)

The Statistics Canada Library is happy to invite you to a virtual presentation that will highlight how you can access historic Statistics Canada data. In this presentation, you’ll learn:

• How to use the Statistics Canada Library’s catalogue
• How to search the historical catalogue to find the information you need
• How to navigate the Historical Resources InfoGuide

Please note that this presentation will help you find published data, not raw data. In addition, this session is geared towards beginners or those who would like a refresher with published non-census data.

Elizabeth Nash is a librarian at the Statistics Canada Library in Ottawa, Ontario.

Wednesday February 14, 2024, 2 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.

After a presentation of CC licenses and their mechanisms in terms of sharing and reuse, we will present and question their potential in relation to datasets. I will invite you to send me your specific questions before or during the presentation, to which we will try together to provide answers or clarification. The presentation itself lasts 60 minutes, with a 30-minute question/discussion period.
Presented by Aline Crédeville

Wednesday February 14, 2 – 3:30pm

There isn’t a soul at Brock who is as passionate about finding geospatial data than Sharon Janzen (of the  Map, Data & GIS Library)! Join Sharon on an adventure of finding geodata through open data portals and utilize and analyze some of these layers within the ArcGIS Online environment. No experience necessary but a genuine interest in GEODATA is a must!

Wednesday, February 14, 2024, 2:00-3:30 PM (PST)

Pandas is an open-source Python library for data structuring and analysis. Its capabilities are flexible and can be integrated with other Python Libraries. It is also efficient for automating repetitive processes. Jupyter Notebook is a web-based environment for interactive computing that helps researchers and scientists easily view programming output. In contrast to traditional programming environments, users can view output one section at a time, which can help for breaking down tasks and debugging. This workshop uses the https://syzygy.ca/ Jupyter Notebook environment to provide hands-on practice with Pandas DataFrames.

Cairo Sanders is UVic Libraries Data Analyst supporting the Libraries with organizational analysis, including data collection and reporting.

Thursday February 15, 2024, 10 a.m. – 12 p.m.

University establishments had to adopt a research data management strategy before March 2023. In order to meet this requirement, Polytechnique Montréal has developed a management policy research data that reconciles the multiple normativities that govern and frame research data, particularly in relation to access to personal information. Overview of the issues and choices made and their impacts. A 30-minute question period is planned.
Presented by Guillaume Paré

Thursday February 15, 2024, 10 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.

This training is aimed at all members of research teams (researchers, professional staff, next generation of students) whose projects use health data. The training includes the following modules:

• What does it actually mean to inform and engage patients and the general public around data?
• Guiding principles and good practices for building a contract of trust with individuals and communities
• Tools, resources and concrete examples available to teams to promote social acceptability of the use of health data in research

Time will be set aside to discuss with the teams their challenges and projects in order to properly integrate these principles, tools and resources into their practices.
Presented by Cécile Petitgand

Thursday February 15, 10 – 11:30 AM 

Embark on a data adventure and join us for an exploration into the realm of data organization and cleaning using the fascinating world of Pokémon. In this engaging workshop based on OpenRefine, participants will learn essential data cleaning techniques and best practices while navigating through the diverse and dynamic Pokémon universe. 

Thursday February 15, 10:30 – 11:30am

Join Elizabeth Nash from Statistics Canada and the Brock University Library in a discussion about the tools, webpages, and resources that will help you fall back in love with census data. In particular, you’ll learn:

• How to access summary census information from 1665-2021
• Tips and tricks to find modern data
• How to access census data using Odesi and CHASS

Thursday February 15, 12 – 1pm

Developing surveys questions for research can be intimidating to beginners but it does not have to be. Attendees in this workshop will learn about tools, resources, strategies, and best practices for survey methodology (i.e. conducting research using questionnaires). Learn about different types of survey questions, pre-testing/validating newly developed questions, available software and more.

Thursday, February 15, 2024 – 1:00 P.M – 2:30 P.M.

This session will provide an overview of the Canadian Opinion Research Archive (CORA), based out of Queen’s University, and the survey data CORA makes available to Canadian social science researchers. Featuring CORA Director, Dr. Elizabeth Goodyear-Grant, this session will highlight ongoing academic research projects like the Consortium on Electoral Democracy (C-DEM): a cross-Canada election research network with a focus on political engagement; underrepresentation; levels of government; public opinion; and collaborative, evidence-based data collection practices. 

Dr. Elizabeth Goodyear-Grant (Ph.D. McGill) is a Professor in the Department of Political Studies at Queen’s University and the Director of the Canadian Opinion Research Archive. Her research focuses on Canadian politics with particular interests in electoral politics, voting behaviour, and public opinion; news media; the political representation of women; and the conceptualization and measurement of sex and gender. She is the author of Gendered News: Media Coverage and Electoral Politics in Canada (Vancouver: UBC Press, 2013), which won the 2016 Pierre Savard Award from the International Council of Canadian Studies and was one of three books shortlisted for the Canadian Political Science Association’s 2014 Donald Smiley Prize.

Thursday, February 15, 2024, 10:00-11:30 AM (PST)

This workshop will introduce concepts and tools for visualizing data in R, with emphasis on the ggplot2 package. Participants are expected to already be familiar with R and the RStudio environment. The workshop is one hour, followed by an optional 30 minute practice period to reinforce what you learned or consult with the instructors. Workshop materials are available at https://ubc-library-rc.github.io/R-viz/

Siobhan Schenk is a Ph.D. candidate in Botany at UBC. She leads workshops statistical analysis and data visualization at the UBC Library Research Commons.

Thursday February 15, 2 – 4pm

Have you been meaning to deposit your research data in the McGiIl Dataverse? Join us on February 15th for a drop-in session to get help with navigating the Dataverse, preparing your data for sharing, and much more.

The McGill Dataverse is provided by the Library as a local solution for research data management and archiving. McGill faculty, students, and staff are welcome to deposit datasets. All data are stored securely on servers located in Canada. Data can be publicly accessible, available to specific individuals, or private/restricted.

Bring you dataset and begin your journey into the Dataverse!

Registration is not required but it will help with our planning (it will also send you a reminder).  

Related LibGuide: Research Data Management by Sandy Hervieux

Thursday, February 15, 2024, 1:00-3:00 PM (PST)

This workshop is intended for anyone with a basic understanding of web mapping who wishes to expand their skillset and design more customizable maps. There are 3 main sections: an introduction to Mapbox and its products, a guided developer environment set-up, and a hands-on portion where we will modify given code to design an interactive map powered by Mapbox and Leaflet.

Lily Crandall-Oral is a geographer and cartographer passionate about integrating art and science through mapping. They lead workshops on map making and spatial analysis using geographic information systems (GIS) at the UBC Library Research Commons.

Friday February 16, 10 – 11:30 AM

Embark on a visually enchanting journey and dive into the world of Pokémon data to explore the art of creating compelling visualizations. This workshop will empower attendees to harness the power of Microsoft Power BI, using Pokémon datasets to craft informative visualizations and showcase important data insights.   

Friday February 16, 12-1:30pm

Are you ready for it? Join us for one of last Love Data Week 2024 events before we ask, “Is It Over Now”?

It’s data (taylor’s version). Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour proved to be the highest-grossing tour of all time. Fans from all over the world flocked to stadiums to see the show but something else happened away from the venues. Hundreds of fans began collecting and curating data about the concerts inspiring datasets that will leave you enchanted. Grab your cardigan and join us for a discussion of the most interesting projects created by these data masterminds.  Taylor and data? It’s a love story, baby, just say, “Yes”.

Have you seen any cool data projects about the Eras tour? Speak now and share them with us: https://forms.office.com/r/P22p6wGkKg

Friday, February 16, 2024 – 1:00 P.M. – 2:00 P.M.

This session will focus on democratic data in Odesi. Odesi has a comprehensive collection of Canadian Public Opinion Polls (POP), spanning over 60 years and covering every region, province, and territory.  Odesi’s POP collections cover historical and current public opinion data, including political and social attitudes about anything from political figures like Justin Trudeau, to drones, housing, or climate change. This session will provide a behind the scenes look at Odesi best practices for data deposit, curation, and preservation of public opinion research data, as well as how to search, share, and reuse data in Odesi. Join us to learn how Odesi’s extensive POP collections support accessible, equitable, and democratic research data initiatives in Canada.

Friday, February 16, 2024, 12:00-1:00 PM (PST)

With the increasing volume of data generated and used by organizations, discover how Data Visualization can guide you through some of the intricacies of decision-making. Join us for an engaging session with guest speaker Vladimir Karakusevic from Boeing as we explore the transformative world of Data Visualization and its pivotal role in reshaping the way businesses operate, innovate, and cater to customer needs. During this session, you will also learn from a practical application as we walk through a live Jupyter Notebook workbook demonstration, offering you a firsthand experience on transforming complex data into actionable insights

Vladimir Karakusevic is an Enterprise Technical Fellow with the Boeing Company.