Feb 07, 2019
13:30 - 16:30
Instructors: Jennifer Daub
Helpers: TBC
OpenRefine (formerly Google Refine) is a powerful tool for working with messy data: cleaning it; organizing it and transforming it from one format into another. It is extremely useful for anyone who works regularly with any kind of tabular data. At its most simple, OpenRefine helps you explore your data, identify and easily correct errors and globally reformat columns. For the more advanced users it can be used to extend your data and link it with web services and external data. Most importantly OpenRefine edits are reproducible and you can create a record of your data cleaning steps so you can automatically run them again on a new dataset. This introductory course is aimed at complete beginners and will get you familiar with basic concepts of OpenRefine: Get an overview of a data set Resolve inconsistencies in a data set Help you split data up into more granular parts Save a set of data cleaning steps to replay on multiple files
For more information, please see OpenRefine
Who: The course is aimed at graduate students and other researchers. You don't need to have any previous knowledge of the tools that will be presented at the workshop.
Where: 2.14 - Teaching Studio, Lister Learning and Teaching Centre (Central Area). 5 Roxburgh Place, Edinburgh, EH8 9SU. Get directions with OpenStreetMap or Google Maps.
When: Feb 07, 2019. Add to your Google Calendar.
Requirements: Participants must bring a laptop with a Mac, Linux, or Windows operating system (not a tablet, Chromebook, etc.) that they have administrative privileges on. They should have a few specific software packages installed (listed below). They are also required to abide by Data Carpentry's Code of Conduct.
Accessibility: We are committed to making this workshop accessible to everybody. The workshop organizers have checked that:
Materials will be provided in advance of the workshop and large-print handouts are available if needed by notifying the organizers in advance. If we can help making learning easier for you (e.g. sign-language interpreters, lactation facilities) please get in touch (using contact details below) and we will attempt to provide them.
Contact: Please email Jennifer.Daub@ed.ac.uk for more information.
Please be sure to complete these surveys before and after the workshop.
| Before starting | Pre-workshop survey |
| Afternoon | OpenRefine for data cleaning |
We will use this collaborative document for chatting, taking notes, and sharing URLs and bits of code.
To participate in a Data Carpentry workshop, you will need access to the software described below. In addition, you will need an up-to-date web browser.
We maintain a list of common issues that occur during installation as a reference for instructors that may be useful on the Configuration Problems and Solutions wiki page.
For this lesson you will need OpenRefine and a web browser. Note: this is a Java program that runs on your machine (not in the cloud). It runs inside a web browser, but no web connection is needed.
Check that you have either the Firefox or the Chrome browser installed and set as your default browser. OpenRefine runs in your default browser. It will not run correctly in Internet Explorer.
Download software from http://openrefine.org/
Create a new directory called OpenRefine.
Unzip the downloaded file into the OpenRefine directory by right-clicking and selecting "Extract ...".
Go to your newly created OpenRefine directory.
Launch OpenRefine by clicking google-refine.exe (this will launch a command prompt window, but you can ignore that - just wait for OpenRefine to open in the browser).
If you are using a different browser, or if OpenRefine does not automatically open for you, point your browser at http://127.0.0.1:3333/ or http://localhost:3333 to use the program.
Check that you have either the Firefox or the Chrome browser installed and set as your default browser. OpenRefine runs in your default browser. It may not run correctly in Safari.
Download software from http://openrefine.org/.
Create a new directory called OpenRefine.
Unzip the downloaded file into the OpenRefine directory by double-clicking it.
Go to your newly created OpenRefine directory.
Launch OpenRefine by dragging the icon into the Applications folder.
Use Ctrl-click/Open ... to launch it.
If you are using a different browser, or if OpenRefine does not automatically open for you, point your browser at http://127.0.0.1:3333/ or http://localhost:3333 to use the program.
Check that you have either the Firefox or the Chrome browser installed and set as your default browser. OpenRefine runs in your default browser.
Download software from http://openrefine.org/.
Make a directory called OpenRefine.
Unzip the downloaded file into the OpenRefine directory.
Go to your newly created OpenRefine directory.
Launch OpenRefine by entering ./refine into the terminal within the OpenRefine directory.
If you are using a different browser, or if OpenRefine does not automatically open for you, point your browser at http://127.0.0.1:3333/ or http://localhost:3333 to use the program.