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Research

“Take Control” Workshop Series

AU Library’s “Take Control” Workshop Series Helps Researchers Manage Data and PC Files

The Library is offering workshops this fall that will help researchers build skills and confidence in working with data and files. The first workshop, “Take Control of Your Data” on October 26 from 10am till 12 noon, introduces Open Refine, a powerful open source tool for cleaning and transforming spreadsheet data. The second, “Take Control of Your PC” on November 3 from 1-3pm, teaches use of the command prompt to quickly organize and manipulate files, directories, and their contents. Full Information is below and on the respective Registration sites.

1) Take control of your data: a beginner’s guide to OpenRefine

This interactive workshop provides an introduction to OpenRefine, a free, open-source tool for working with messy data. Through instructor-guided exercises, participants from all disciplines will apply OpenRefine tools and the General Refine Expression Language (GREL) to clean, standardize, and transform spreadsheet data.

Register:  https://calendar.library.american.edu/event/8420804
Date:  Tuesday, October 26, 2021
Time:  10am to 12 noon
Location:  Library Room 306
Instructor:  Dom Bortruex
Prerequisites: No previous experience with OpenRefine or expression languages is required. Participants must:

  • Have a computer (Windows, Mac, Linux operating system) with administrative privileges.
  • A web browser
  • Install OpenRefine

2) Take control of your Windows PC … from the Command Prompt!

Learn how to use the Command Prompt in Microsoft Windows to:

  • generate flat and hierarchical file and directory listings
  • copy, move, and remove files
  • find specific character sequences in text files
  • recall and edit previous commands
  • direct outputs of commands into files
  • automate reuse of commands through short scripts
  • and more.

Register: https://calendar.library.american.edu/calendar/workshops/WinCmd
Date: Wednesday, November 3
Time:  1-3pm
Location:  Library Classroom 306
Instructor:  Stefan Kramer
Prerequisites: Basic familiarity with Microsoft Windows’ drive, directory and file structure. Requires access to a Windows PC and Administrator account for hands-on exercises. No programming knowledge assumed.