In health research, we are increasingly reliant on research software. Many of us are developing data analysis scripts, code, or even entire software packages. This course is designed for those who write code and want to ensure good quality of this code.

Agenda

The course follows a fixed schedule each week, where participants will:

Receive an email with some context on the topics as well as information of the week’s videos to watch and tasks to implement
Watch the video
Implement the tasks of the week
Check in with their buddy and help each other with their tasks, and
Discuss remaining questions as a group with an expert

The overall course schedule runs over 6 course weeks, preceded by a kick-off a couple of weeks prior to the course start. Participants are expected to invest approximately 20 hours of work into this course.

Meeting sessions

The 7 weekly meeting sessions will take place every Wednesday from 30th October 2024, ending on Wednesday 11th December 2024. The first session will be our kick-off, where everything will be explained in detail.

30th October, 13:00 – 14:00 (GMT), kick-off
6th November, 13:00 – 14:00
13th November, 13:00 – 14:00
20th November, 13:00 – 14:00
27th November, 13:00 – 14:00
4th December, 13:00 – 14:00
11th December, 13:00 – 14:00

Emails

Emails with information, such as the videos and tasks, on the upcoming week will be sent out after each meeting. Please watch the videos and implement the tasks of each week before the respective meeting session.

Buddy check-ins

You and your course buddy decide when you will check in with each other. It’s recommended you meet on Mondays for 15-30 minutes. We will assign the buddy pairs in the kick-off meeting.

Topics

How to write reproducible code
Writing good code documentation
Introduction to version control for code
Collaborative coding projects
Implementing tasks of the week
Coding with style
Publishing code and software
Making code / software usable for others
Unit testing
Continuous integration
Containers for stabilising the computing environment

Target audience

The intended audience for the workshop is for health researchers who write code and want to get an overview on good coding practices.

Prerequisites:

An intermediate level of programming knowledge in one programming language. The course is not tied to any particular language, but open source software, such as R or Python, will be the focus.

Speakers:

Dr Heidi Seibold

Cost:

£250

Discounts are available for members of the HDR UK community. If you would like to check your eligibility for discount, please contact Learn@HDRUK.ac.uk.

Research Software Engineering for Health Researchers Workshop Series