Earlier this month, I had the pleasure of being one of 75 researchers selected to attend the inaugural Perth Research Bazaar.

Coding? Just add coffee…

This three-day event offered researchers of all levels and disciplines an intensive introduction to some commonly-used programming software.  We were taught the basics of Unix, Python, R, GitHub, LaTeX, NVivo, and D3 from every-day users of these tools, who were all-too-happy to share their secret tips.  So despite my “imposter syndrome” feelings about coding, I had a really great time and left feeling more confident about programming than I believed possible.

One of my favourite things about #PerthResBaz was how the group interacted through Twitter.  On the first day alone, I think I spoke with more attendees over social media than I did in person!  It allowed us to network with other Perth researchers and provided the opportunity to share our knowledge of different research tools, whilst also keeping up a running commentary on proceedings for those unable to attend.

Given this, I’ve created a Storify summary using tweets from across the three days, broken down to reflect the different sessions and software utilised by the conference.

If this sounds too big, how about hosting a regular Hacky Hour?  These casual meetings generally involve researchers meeting up at a bar or coffee shop to help trouble-shoot each others code.  So if you feel like you need help with your programming (that you could be of assistance to someone else!), look for a Hacky Hour near you!  For those of you in Perth, there is one at Curtin University – follow @CUHackyHour on Twitter for updates!