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University of Texas University of Texas Libraries

Data & Donuts

Current Semester Schedule

Data & Donuts logo

Data & Donuts is a workshop series organized each semester by the UT Libraries Research Data Services team. Instructors from UT Libraries and partners across campus share expert advice, resources, and tools that will help you take good care of your data through all phases of the research lifecycle, from project planning to data preservation.

To receive occasional announcements about Data & Donuts workshops and other similar events, please visit https://utlists.utexas.edu/sympa/subscribe/research-data-services to subscribe to the UT Libraries Research Data Services email list.
Workshops on select Fridays from 12 to 1:15pm
Please consider attending the upcoming workshops below. If you are interested in presentation slides, Zoom recordings, and other materials from past events you can access these resources using the links in the left column of this page which point to pages with information about each of the workshops offered in prior academic years.

Spring 2025

Spring 2025
Open Source GIS: From QGIS to PythonDonut logo
Instructor: Alex Marden
Date: 1/31/2025
Time: 12:00 - 1:15p.m.
Location: PCL Scholars Lab Data Lab
& Zoom (Virtual Workshop)
Registration: Sign Up Here!
This workshop will guide attendees through open source GIS workflows using QGIS's approachable user interface and demonstrate how to replicate those processes programmatically in Python for enhanced reproducibility and efficiency. GIS beginners can expect a well rounded introduction to geospatial data and software, while seasoned users will benefit from techniques for automating their workflows with Python.
Intro to Python for Data ManagementDonut logo
Instructor: Michael Shensky
Date: 2/11/2025
Time: 12:00 - 1:15p.m.
Location: PCL Scholars Lab Data Lab
& Zoom (Virtual Workshop)
Registration: Sign Up Here!
When you start working with large datasets or need to develop reproducible workflows, the ability to develop scripted processes for data processing and analysis can be essential. Tune in for this workshop to learn the basics of using Python, a popular free and open source scripting language, to process and manage research data.
Python for Data Retrieval and Visualization
Instructor: Ian Goodale &
Michael Shensky
Date: 2/12/2025
Time: 12:00 - 1:15p.m.
Location: Zoom (Virtual Workshop)
Registration: Sign Up Here!
In this workshop you will have a chance to go beyond the basic of Python to gain experience using scripts to retrieve data from different online sources that you can utilize in your research. After retrieving data using APIs, you will learn how to process and clean the data for further analysis and visualization using pandas and matplotlib.
Making Beautiful Plots in R's ggplot2Donut logo
Instructor: Jessica Alexander
Date: 2/13/2025
Time: 12:00 - 1:15p.m.
Location: PCL Scholars Lab Data Lab
& Zoom (Virtual Workshop)
Registration: Sign Up Here!
Never have plot envy again! This hands-on workshop will demystify the fundamentals of using the ggplot2 package in R and will supercharge your plots with statistical data. You will get the most out of this workshop if you already know R basics (e.g., how to define a variable and how to specify input parameters to a function), but otherwise assumes no knowledge of coding in R or building plots in ggplot2.
Where and How to Publish Research DataDonut logo
Instructor: Bryan Gee
Date: 2/14/2025
Time: 12:00 - 1:15p.m.
Location: PCL Scholars Lab Data Lab
& Zoom (Virtual Workshop)
Registration: Sign Up Here!
There are a wide range of platforms available to researchers to share their data, and it can be overwhelming trying to find the best home for your data (including which platforms to avoid). This workshop will provide an overview on how to pick a repository for publishing your data, with an emphasis on generalist (non-discipline-specific) platforms, and provide best practices for sharing high-quality metadata and data that maximizes their accessibility and reuse potential and that complies with federal agencies' policies.
How to Share Sensitive (Human) Data
Instructor: Meryl Brodsky &
Bryan Gee
Date: 2/28/2025
Time: 12:00 - 1:15p.m.
Location: Zoom (Virtual Workshop)
Registration: Sign Up Here!
Sharing research data is a requirement of many funding agencies and journals. When the data includes information which, when made public, could be used to harm research participants, researchers must maintain a duty of care to keep the data secure and to protect participants’ identities. In this workshop, we’ll discuss how to meet requirements for data sharing while ensuring ethical treatment and protection of sensitive data. We will address consent issues and IRB, secure storage, anonymization, and de-identification, as well as data (re)use agreements. We will also point out which data can be shared.

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