Celebrate your data in 2024’s Love Data Week! Scheduled for the week of Valentine’s Day, this year’s theme is “my kind of data.” It’s celebration of data in all its forms. Don’t just be the data, love the data!
This year’s Love Data Week is joint effort from the libraries at Simon Fraser University, the University of Northern British Columbia, the University of Victoria and the University of British Columbia. But you don’t have to attend these institutions – the talks and workshops are open to everyone. All events will be be hosted online using Zoom, so you can attend from anywhere in the world, and better yet, registration is free.
It’s also an international event, with events being promoted by the Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR). If nothing local grabs your interest, you can explore the list of worldwide events.
We look forward to seeing you!
Calendar of events
Ocean Networks Canada’s Suite of Data Tools and Services
Monday, February 12, 2024, 11:00 AM-12:00 PM
From State of the Ocean plots to navigating the depths of Hydrothermal Vents with ROV footage, learn how to access, view, and download ONC’s data through our suite of tools and services. This presentation will focus on Oceans 3.0 and its various sources for data. Data Preview, Plotting Utility, Data Search, and SeaTube v3 will all be discussed and demoed. A curated Jupyter Notebook/DeepNote will also be provided for those who would like some examples of data applications.
Sean Tippett is the Acting Research Data Management Team Lead at Ocean Networks Canada. Having a background in Biology, Sean is a data steward with responsibilities for ONC’s biological data initiatives.
Canadian Housing Data (Statistics Canada)
Tuesday, February 13, 2024, 10:00-11:30 AM
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 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.
The CHSP, for its part, provides comprehensive information on residential properties and their owners. It provides granular information on the properties owned and the owners’ characteristics. The CHS, meanwhile, collects information about housing needs and experiences from a sample of Canadian households. In the survey, information is collected on core housing need, dwelling and neighbourhood satisfaction, housing moves, and other aspects of well-being related to housing. Lastly, the Census of Population provides a longer time-series of local and national information on dwellings and people by their demographic, social and economic characteristics.
These three sources of housing data complement each other and offer comprehensive information on housing in Canada. By using this data, researchers can gain insights into housing trends and the needs and preferences of Canadian residents.
Josh Gordon is a Senior Analyst with the Canadian Housing Statistics Program (CHSP). In 2023, Josh published two articles for the CHSP, focused on the profile and role of real estate investors. Before joining Statistics Canada, Josh was an assistant professor at the School of Public Policy at Simon Fraser University. His academic research focused on the Canadian housing market and the politics of labor market policy. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Toronto in 2012.
Jeff Randle began his career at Statistics Canada as a student in the summer of 2006. After completing an undergraduate degree in economics, he continued in the Income Statistics Division as an analyst working on household surveys focusing on income and socioeconomic well-being. In 2014, he joined the housing subject matter unit responsible for the housing content and analysis on the Census of Population and homelessness analytical and data development projects. Jeff now 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. David is involved in the data processing, development and publication of the housing content in the Census products. He has a Bachelor of Mathematics from Carleton University.
Introduction to Machine Learning: Regression Models
Tuesday, February 13, 2024, 1:00 – 3:00 PM
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, exploring its various types and applications and continues with training regression models, interpreting the results, and making predictions using real-world datasets. Additionally, participants will gain insights into advanced topics such as regularization and feature selection. 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.
In this workshop, we will use cloud-based platforms, so you don’t need to have Python installed. Please make sure that you have a Google Colaboratory (https://colab.research.google.com/) account. This workshop will involve hands-on exercises that require the use of programming tools and libraries commonly used in machine learning, such as Python and Scikit-learn. As such, prior familiarity with Python programming is recommended for participants to fully benefit from the practical component of the workshop.
Vedant Bahel is a graduate student at UBC Computer Science, focusing his research toward the realm of human-AI interaction, with a specific emphasis on Explainable AI.
History buffs: Learn how to find Statistics Canada information pre-1981
Wednesday, February 14, 2024, 10:00-11:00 AM
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
Pandas DataFrames in Jupyter Notebooks
Wednesday, February 14, 2024, 2:00-3:30 PM
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. There is no need for console knowledge.
This workshop uses the https://syzygy.ca/ Jupyter Notebook software because it is free for many Canadian universities and avoids the hassle of downloading new software. This workshop is primarily hands-on practice with Pandas DataFrames in order to learn to use key features of the software.
Cairo Sanders is UVic Libraries Data Analyst supporting the Libraries with organizational analysis, including data collection and reporting.
Data Visualization with ggplot2
Thursday, February 15, 2024, 10:00-11:30 AM
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 studies how bacteria influence the health of kelps in stressful abiotic conditions and on kelp farms. Siobhan is a member of the Quantitative Data Analysis team in the UBC Library Research Commons and offers workshops and consults on statistical analysis and data visualization through R, python, and SPSS.
Designing Web Maps with Mapbox
Thursday, February 15, 2024, 1:00-3:00 PM
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. As member of the Geospatial Information and Technology team in the UBC Library Research Commons, they offer consults and lead workshops on map making and spatial analysis using geographic information systems (GIS).
SFU’s Big Data Hub Presents Data Visionaries Series: Visualizing Data
Friday, February 16, 2024, 12:00-1:00 PM
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.