Class Info

• Website for materials available at:– www.humboldt.edu/gsp

• We’ll use Moodle for turning in assignments, grades, emails, blog

This Class• This is a graduate level spatial modeling

class in natural resources

• This will be one of the most challenging classes you’ll probably take

• You’ll leave with a background in modeling and critical thinking that few GIS professionals ever achieve

• And, while it’s based on a class at OSU, it is being updated for HSU

What is a model?

spectorlab.cshl.edu

An abstraction of reality-We cannot describe all the details-They are never perfect

Help us to answer questions for problems we cannot test directly

Why do we model?

Modeling is Huge!

• Modeling is a huge, rapidly growing, and exciting field

• My background is in habitat suitability modeling with large dataset for mostly plants

• There will be new topics we’ll work with to learn together– Welcome to research!

How the class works

• There are three components:– Modeling in R (and some Python)– Presentations and discussions – Your project

• By the end of class you will be able to:– Build your own models in R– Articulate the theory, capabilities, and

weaknesses of modeling– Select appropriate modeling approaches– Continue to learn about modeling in your

field

What do you need from me?

• Break into groups of 3

• Select the top 3 things you need me to do to help you be successful

• Select someone to add them to the list on the board

Class Structure

• I’ve structured the class to prepare you for the “real” world

• Out there, there are few classes, tests, and quizzes

• Mostly there are:– Communication (email & group)– Coordination– Budgets, reports– Some data collection, evaluation, and

modeling…

To Be Successful

• Show up for class and lab (on time)

• Do the readings

• Spend time getting to know R (play time!)

• Use your resources to get help!– Me– Other students– Books, articles– And the web

How to read the book

• I recommend:– Read it once fairly quickly– Go back and read key parts and think about

them– Try the code examples– Ask questions about key parts that are

unclear

• Play with the concepts in R until comfortable with them – PS: this has taken me years

Participation/Teamwork

• Goes up for:– Participating constructively in discussions– Sending the class cool info– Helping other students

• Goes down for:– Missing class or lab– Being disruptive (phones, etc.)– Being dismissive of others

Projects

• You are responsible to present and turn in a completed project at the end of the semester

• I will not be asking for incremental deliverables (i.e. you need to manage your project schedule)

Start Now!

• Define your project– Find the data!– Can be part of your research but must have

new content over existing deliverables

• Start your introduction– Start looking for papers– Create summaries (annotated bibliography)– Add to citation manager (EndNote)