Charts and Graphs (in R)

Kuching, 7-10 May 2012

We'll begin by looking at a range of different types of charts (scatter plots, bar charts, line graphs, box plots, dot plots, pie charts, and the more exotic stacked bar or line charts, violin plots, etc) and experiment with some of the types for presenting different types of data. We'll also look at the contrasting recommendations of two graphics gurus, William Cleveland and Edward Tufte. Details of topics to be covered are here.

Some types of charts can be drawn in spreadsheet software (eg. MS Excel or LibreOffice Calc), but R offers both a greater range of chart types and more flexibility in adjusting chart details to meet the demands of journal editors. So we will look at ways of getting your own data into a suitable format to import into R and preparing it for plotting in R.

Note: Based on feedback from potential participants, we've extended the workshop from 3 to 4 days, so dates are now Mon 7 to Thurs 10 May.

Venue: Sama Jaya Nature Reserve, Kuching

Registration fee: RM 70 (BCSS members RM 50), payable on first day of the workshop, plus RM 1/day to enter Sama Jaya (yes, the price goes up on 1 May). Includes materials and tea/coffee breaks.

To register: Contact mmeredith at wcs dot org or ngumbangjuat at hotmail dot com

Scientific communication workshop

Kuching, 23 February to 20 March 2012.

The workshop was scheduled as a series of 5 blocks totalling 11 days. Future sessions will likely take the form of free-standing workshops, with workshops on Research Basics, Conference Presentations and the Boot Camp being requirements for a short, intensive core writing workshop.

Details of these workshops are currently under discussion. If you have ideas to contribute please contact a BCSS committee member or Mike Meredith, mmeredith at wcs dot org.

"Boot Camp" in wildlife study design and data analysis

Intended for those involved in wildlife research using techniques such as line transects, presence/absence surveys or mark-recapture - or those who need to understand the results of this research. The "Boot Camp" will start with basic statistical concepts and go on to study design and data collection methods. We will also cover practical data analysis with Excel, R, and the PRESENCE, DISTANCE, SECR and MARK packages; the emphasis here will be on the type and quality of data needed for robust analysis. Click here for more details of content. 

The next Boot Camps will be held at the beginning of 2013.

If you are interested in attending this course, please email Mike Meredith, mmeredith at wcs dot org.

Regional Workshops

These workshops focused on occupancy modelling in 2010, density estimation from spatially explicit capture-recapture (SECR) in 2011, and species distribution modelling (SDM) in 2012. Details of past workshops are here.

If you have suggestions for further topics for specialist workshops, contact Mike, mmeredith at wcs dot org.

Updated 23 April 2012 by Mike Meredith