This is the central site for sharing materials related to presentations made in the Oklahoma Data Science Workshop (DSW) over the past several years. The DSW is a platform for scientists to discuss how they utilize computing in their research. Many of the speakers work in departments where a departmental seminar may not be the most appropriate venue for them to discuss computing and software tools. The DSW provides a venue for scientists to share their knowledge and experiences.
Because the meetings are held in public, the speakers must be aware of the risks associated with discussing unpublished results. Likewise, results involving personal health information have to be de-identified. The same applies to identifying information regarding students who may have participated in a survey. Quite often, the tools and algorithms discussed are at the cutting edge and do not appear in formal coursework for several years, if ever.
The meetings are held at noon on the third Friday of each month except for July and December. The talks last for 1 hour, followed by a subsequent question-and-answer session that generally averages about 20 minutes in length. Both the talk and the discussions are recorded for later viewing. The videos of the talks and discussions are posted online within several working days.
Participants come from several institutions of higher learning in the state of Oklahoma, as well as guests from outside of the state. The talks are presented by scientists at all levels, with approximately a quarter of the talks given by graduate students. Speakers either volunteer in response to a call for talks at the start of each semester or are recruited.