My research interests revolve around making my data analyses easier and more reproducible. I’d like it if every step in the methodical exploration of (or prediction from) data is easily documented, reproduced, transformed, integrated and fun … (if such a thing is possible).
I conceptualise data analyses as grouped networks of the many choices and revisions an analyst makes through a complex workflow in a project, clusters of which make up the many projects, databases and codebases analysts use everyday.
In my work as a data manager at a research school, I spend a lot of time linking together datasets to analyse population, health and environmental dimensions. There are complex relationships to be found but because there are so many steps required for such an analysis workflow, and there are strong barriers to reproducibility. A key barrier is due to the difficulties of tracking and documenting the numerous generations of derivative datasets and analyses. I have developed an interest in software applications used during workflow actions and decision making to document a reproducible module of work; in desperately entwined and heroically integrated analyses.
My Topics
I am interested in systems analysis, especially of environmental health systems and
- interventions
- catastrophes
- explanations
- predictions
I also focus on
- Sucide and Drought in Southern Australia
and Atmospherics, including:
- pollution events from Bushfires, dust storms, aeroallergen peaks
- average exposures and extremes to temperature, humidity, rainfall… combinations of these
I also dabble in other environmental health issues such as mosquito diseases and drinking water pathogens.
My Tools
I try do all my data integrations and analysis in R/Sweave. I am currently planning to investigate the following tools
- R/Sweave/make
- packages
- python
- version control (git)
- graphviz
- projectTemplate
- workflow apps: kepler\taverna\RanalyticFlow\Rgraphviz
- disentangleThings
My Intentions
In this blog I will write about my experiences as I dealve into these new areas and write a PhD about them (and my research topics, knotted problems to be disentangled as we go). I am not a very adept programmer, but hopefully these tools will help enable me to deal with the intergrated analyses I hope to do.
