Introduction to Python/ Python Programming for Beginners

The course is a fcrash course targeted towards both faculty and PhD students in the humanities and social sciences who are interested in gaining a basic understanding of programming and some practical knowledge on how to use the Python language. During the course you will also learn how to install and work with JupyterLab which is a modern interactive development environment for “literate coding” where you can seamlessly combine written research notes with code, and data. This flexible interface allows users to process workflows in data science, scientific computing, computational journalism, and machine learning – but it is also suitable for data-driven research within the humanities and social sciences.

Main course goals

The aim of the course is to introduce the basic concepts and skills required for programming using the Python language. The course will also explain how to set up a working Python environment on your own computer. After having completed the course the students will have acquired:

• Basic knowledge of how a programming environment works and the practical ability to set up Python on a computer
• Knowledge about basic Python syntax and basic scripting, including variables, data types and manipulation of data
• Knowledge of Python programming fundamentals including data structures and loops, conditionals and functions
• The ability to work with data in python using Pandas dataframe, including reading and writing files in different formats
• The basic ability to put programming to practice using real world examples

Pedagogical basis

The general idea of the course is to give the attendant a basic understanding of programming and the python programming language, to serve as a platform to keep expanding their skills in Python and learn to use it in their own work. Each day will typically consist of lectures and hands-on lab sessions where the student interacts with the instructors, completes assignments and works on their own in the Python environment. The course requires active participation from the students.

Examination 

The course will be examined through continuous evaluation and active participation in the lectures and labs.

Programme 

Day 1: Getting started with Python (e.g. Finding the command line; setting up the Python environment and JupyterLab on your laptop)

Day 2: Python basics (e.g. Basic Python syntax, data types, Basic scripting: storing values in variables, adding and subtracting)

Day 3: Python programming fundamentals (e.g. Basic data structures and manipulation of data: strings, lists, tuples; Basic programming: loops, conditionals and functions)

Day 4: Working with Data in Python (e.g. Understanding Pandas dataframe, Reading and writing files)

Day 5: Putting programming into practice