Track, organize and share your work: An introduction to Git for psychological research
University of Hamburg
Winter 2024/25 Online 27 attendees
Course Content
In today’s digital age, the majority of scientific insights in quantitative research are gained from the analysis of data using programming code. Although data and code are integral parts of their work, scientists often handle digital objects on their computers in a somewhat chaotic, unreliable, and irreproducible manner. It’s not uncommon to hear researchers wondering, “Which version of my data and code did I use to get this result?” or “I found a bug in my code. Since when was it there?” and “This code used to work! What did I change?”. This not only affects the reproducibility and trustworthiness of science but also frequently leads to frustration, a waste of time, and, at worst, the loss of painstakingly accumulated work. The good news is that scientists can learn about practices and tools from other disciplines, particularly software engineering, that have significantly professionalized collaborative work on digital objects like programming code. At the core of this toolkit is the free and open-source software Git, a so-called version control system that allows tracking and organizing the evolution of digital objects on computers and sharing them via platforms like GitHub. In this hands-on course with practical exercises, participants will learn how to track, organize and share their work using Git.
Course Goals
The main goal of this course is to empower students with the skills to efficiently organize projects on their computers using Git and GitHub. Participants will actively engage in hands-on experiences with these tools, exploring both the command-line and Graphical User Interfaces. Proficiency in Git and GitHub not only enhances students’ effectiveness in conducting research projects by ensuring organized and reproducible workflows but also elevates their employability. The technical skills acquired in this course are increasingly sought after in various work settings, providing students with a competitive edge in today’s dynamic job market.
Course Mechanics
This course is an international teaching collaboration between the University of Hamburg and Erasmus University Rotterdam. Course participants from both sites will interact online (via Zoom) and work together on the course exercises. This course is therefore also aimed at fostering intercultural exchange among the course participants from both institutions. Guided by the seminar instructor, course participants will receive input while working through a dedicated Git Handbook (https://lennartwittkuhn.com/version-control-book/](https://lennartwittkuhn.com/version-control-book/) that is tuned to the structure of the course and needs of the course participants, as well as engaging in practical hands-on exercises with Git and GitHub.
Funding
This project was funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg under the Excellence Strategy of the Federal Government and the Länder as part of the International Teaching and Learning Formats (ILLF@home) program at University of Hamburg. Our ILLF@home project proposal can be found here.
The project was previously funded by the Digital and Data Literacy in Teaching Lab (DDLitLab), an initiative by the ISA-Zentrum at the University of Hamburg. The Digital and Data Literacy in Teaching Lab program is in turn funded by the Stiftung Innovation in der Hochschullehre (details can be found here). Our DDLitLab project proposal can be found here (in German).