Python for sociologists. Introduction to programming

obligatory courses

(in Polish) Do udziału nie jest potrzebna żadna wiedza na temat programowania. Do zrozumienia dokumentacji potrzebna jest wyższa niż podstawowa znajomość języka angielskiego.

Classroom

The aim of the course is to introduce the basics of programming using the Python language. As part of the course, students will familiarize themselves with the basic programming principles and write their first programs. They will get the basics necessary for further learning programming, especially for the analysis of various types of data.

Since we carry out a significant part of life today in relations with and via the Internet, digital data on the subject of social life is constantly increasing. Their heterogeneous nature and previously unknown structures require adequately flexible and effective methods of analysis, which are based on the use of often proprietary software.

The two most popular programming languages used by digital sociologists are Python and R. Knowing one of them, together with a team of accompanying libraries and technologies, is necessary to effectively conduct research on digital traces of human activity and to be able to reach for sources data that non-programmers are unavailable to. Programming is also useful when conducting more traditional sociological research - they allow to streamline analytical procedures or to organize and transform data as needed on the fly.

The aim of the "Python for sociologists" course is to introduce participants to the basics of programming using one of the two mentioned languages - Python. Currently, it is one of the most popular programming languages used in the context of social sciences, but also very popular outside their area - primarily in programming for the Internet or in automating various types of tasks. It allows you to quickly and efficiently build programs that allow you to download and process data, program websites or web applications and use sophisticated technologies for example to recognize text or images. It also allows for efficiently building bots or integration with popular websites. Due to its similarities to natural English, it is also exceptionally user-friendly and easy to learn.

At the same time, the basic principles that govern Python are the same for many other programming languages. It makes his acquaintance a great introduction to programming in general.

These classes will focus on educating students in the basics of programming knowledge and intuition in relation to Python and other programming languages. We will explain what variables are, what data structures can be used during programming, how to program conditions and loops, how to make calculations and simple text analyzes. We will also touch other areas that the participants will suggest or choose: programming for the Internet, interactive programming, writing bots, using programming interfaces, basics of programming data analysis or else.

The knowledge acquired during the course will be the basis for further learning Python and using it for purposes more closely related to the work of a researcher in the field of social sciences.