Workshop abstract
This course is a gentle, fast paced introduction to SQL. Our objective is to build a strong foundation and intuition for SQL programming, with an emphasis on retrieving and transforming data in a robust and testable manner. The course is suitable for beginners with no prior programming experience, but includes plenty of additional material for experienced programmers that are new to SQL. We look at two ‘flavours’ of SQL: the (free) open source MySQL, and Microsoft's proprietary T-SQL. However, all of the fundamentals, which are core SQL standards, are transferable to all other flavours of SQL, such as PostgreSQL, Oracle SQL Live, SQLite, and so on. The course is online with interactive exercises and opportunities for one-on-one support from the instructor. It comes with a detailed textbook, written by the instructor, with carefully structured exercises. Attendance is capped at 25 people. SSA members and non-member students are given a 50% discount, while student members receive an 80% discount.
Instructor Bio
Daniel Fryer wrote the first edition of this workshop for the New Zealand Social Statistics Network, University of Auckland, where he’s delivered five iterations over the past three years. He’s an award winning Sessional Lecturer and Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, at La Trobe University, Melbourne, where he teaches meta-analysis and database design / SQL to Master’s students, in computer science, statistics and data science. He is a casual Data Scientist at the Social Research Centre, technical sub-editor for the ANZ Journal of Statistics, and executive privacy officer for the Statistical Society of Australia, where he built and manages the society’s longitudinal member database. He is also father of a bouncing baby boy named Charlie, and lives in sunny Far North Melbourne. Somehow, he finds time to work on his PhD, applying coalitional game theory in machine learning, at the University of Queensland, where he recently received the UQ Future Superstars Award for outstanding contributions in science learning, communication, research, teaching, service, mentoring and leadership.
Timetable
- 9:00am – 10:30am
- Short break: 10:30am - 11:00am
- Lecture 2: 11:00am – 12:30pm
- Lunch: 12:30pm – 1:30pm
- Hands-on: 1:30pm – 3:00pm (guided walk-through exercises)
- Hands-on: 3:00pm – 5:00pm (one-on-one help sessions)
Both sessions (days) start at 9am and finish at 5 pm.
Setup instructions
The instructions linked below ask you to install a SQL server and a SQL editor, then run a script to create some test data. If you get stuck at any point just email to ask for my help.
The setup takes time, especially if your computer is administered by a workplace (you may need admin rights to install a database server).
I will be available by email from now on to help anyone who has any difficulty. Many will run into small setup issues, so please do contact me for help!
SQL setup Instructions
A handful of you may already know of MySQL and T-SQL (SQL Server). This workshop is a Choose Your Own Adventure style, so you pick one (or both if you’re hardcore).
Here’s some advice if you don’t know which one to pick:
- · If you are on Windows, then choose T-SQL (because it’s easier to set up).
- · If you are on Mac, then choose MySQL (because it’s easier to set up).
For this course, MySQL and T-SQL are almost identical anyway.
Once you’ve made your decision, click the corresponding link below to get your set-up instructions.
Cancellations received prior to Friday, January 27 , will be refunded, minus a $20 administration fee. From then onwards no part of the registration fee will be refunded. However, registrations are transferable within the same organisation. Please advise any changes to events@statsoc.org.au.
@StatSocAus
