Intro / Computer stuff

Slides [link]

Outline

• Introductions
• Computer setup
  • software choices
  • a working in version of python useful regardless of which you choose
    • best starting point is Anaconda
  • for this class (ie homeworks), its also useful to use Jupyter notebooks.
    • for some tips getting started, see QuantEcon
    • you can actually run Jupyter remotely without installing here
• some good practices for empirical research
  • Automation
    • use a make file. example from my research here
  • Most code does two things:
    1. cleans data and puts it in the right shape (build)
    2. takes clean data and does analysis (analysis) Keep these separate!
  • Raw data should not be edited. Keep readme for where and when you got it.
• version control
  • see my RA Manual wiki for tips getting started and troubleshooting.
  • examples from wind innovation repo

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Required Readings

• Read Gentzkow and Shapiro’s “Code and Data for the Social Sciences: A Practitioner’s Guide”
• Sign up for a Github account.
• Download and install R and Rstudio.