1.Software
Packages
1.1) What software packages are
available on the lab PCs?
See the Software List to find what
software is available in the Data Center. While some software is standard for
all lab machines, some is on specific machines only.
1.2) Installing
MikTex and WinEdt
1.3) LaTex and TeXShop on
a Mac
1.4) Exporting JSTOR search
results for use in BibTex Databases
1.5) Exporting Web of
Science search results for use in BibTex databases
2.1) What should I do as a
first step before doing data analysis?
Find out whether the data you want
to use is already on-line, find the documentation, pick a software package; read
Nagler
(TPM 1995).
3.1) How do I find out what social
science data is available?
There is a large archive of social science
data available online at the Inter-University Consortium for Political and
Social Research, or ICPSR. You can click on the ICPSR page for a listingof the
available data. To see the types of data on the site, go to "Search Full Data
Holdings" and then choose "Browse our subject areas".
Many of the
datasets can be downloaded freely, while others are restricted to authorized
users. NYU is an authorized user, so you will be able to access the data once
you have created an account. You will need to create the account while using a
computer with an NYU IP address, so that ICPSR recognizes that you are an
authorized user.
3.2) Where are the codebooks for the data?
The
ICPSR site includes codebooks along with their datasets. Most of the codebooks
are available in machine-readable format and can easily be downloaded. A few,
however, are available in hard copy only, and these must be ordered from ICPSR.
In this case, contact the Politics Data Center staff at
politics.datahelp@nyu.edu so that the codebook can be requested for you. Note
that this process can take up to several weeks.
3.3) What data is
available locally?
Some data sets are archived on the politics server.
You can access this data by logging in to a lab computer and looking in the L:
(or "Data") drive, or by clicking on this link and logging in with thesame
username and password. Note that you can use Stat-Transfer on any PC in the labs
to convert datasets between different formats.
See also the faculty data
sets page.
3.4) How do I convert Datasets between different
formats?
You can use Stat Transfer on any lab
computer.
4.1) What statistics
packages are on the lab computers?
- STATA: Does Alot of Things, Very Good Data Handling
- SPSS: On Computer 12 in Room 335 Only
- Limdep: Specializes in Limited Dependent Variable Models
- Gauss: Fast Mathematical and Statistical Programming Language Environment
4.2) Where can I find help
on how to use statistical packages?
Try contacting
tech support, specifically the
Statistics Software person. If technical support is not available, consult one
of the manuals in room 335. Copies of portions of a manual may be obtained by
contacting one of the technicians. Do not remove any of the manuals from the
lab.
5.1) How do I create a home page
for the Web?
Faculty members should contact the
Department Webmaster at politics.web@nyu.edu to have a home page
set up on the Department web site. Ideally, you should provide a CV, current
syllabi and a description of your research interests. If you wish to maintain
your own Politics Department home page, see these
instructions.
Anyone with an NYU NetID can
publish a personal home page on the Internet, using the "Files" section of NYUHome. Go to the ITS site on Personal Web Pages
for more information.
5.2) Can I make syllabi and
other documents available to students?
Yes, there are several ways to do
this. You can use Blackboard. We can put
the documents on your personal webpage. Send the documents you want included on
your web page to the Department Webmaster at politics.web@nyu.edu. If you want to edit
and update your page yourself, see these
instructions.
For graduate courses, you can also
create a directory on the I: drive (or "courses" drive) on the server. For more
information on how this works, see the About
the Courses drive webpage.
5.3) I'm a PhD student. How do I
create a World-Wide Web Home Page?
There is a template for Politics
Department graduate student webpages. To have a page that will be linked to from
the main student webpage, you must use
this template to create your home page. (You can create additional or
alternative pages without using the template.) For more information and to get
the template, send an email to the Politics Data Center at politics.datahelp@nyu.edu.
6.1) How do I create a web page
for a class?
See the Faculty Account Information
page.
7.1) How do I create an email
list for a class?
See the Faculty Account Information
page.
8.1) When Are Backups
Performed on the Politics Server?
Backup is done on the Politics
Server daily, Monday through Saturday. The backup from the last Monday of each
month is stored for six months. The backup tapes from the last Monday in June
and the last Monday in December are stored
indefinitely.
Note that the server is backed-up
to protect against accidental loss of data. The back-up tapes are
NOT archived. This means that if you want some files that you
had 2 years ago, but have since been deleted - the data center staff probably
won't be able to recover them for you.
Users are responsible for archiving
their own work. The Lab Manager can assist you with
this.
9.1) What version of
Windows does the lab run?
Windows
XP.
9.2) What Windows
applications are available?
Windows itself contains a number of
standard applications. In addition, all laboratory PCs have Microsoft Office
2003. All PCs also have a series of applications for doing statistical and other
work. Individual lab machines may contain additional software for special
purposes. From time to time, other specialized software may be made available.
If you have software needs that are not being met, do not install software
yourself, see a member of the Data Center Staff. Manuals are available in the
lab for each of these applications.
See also: Software
List
9.3) Can I install programs
from the lab on my personal computer?
Some of the software available in
the computer labs is commercial software purchased by the department. However,
several programs can be downloaded:
- Instructions for downloading
and installing MiKTeX and/or WinEDT.
- Instructions for
downloading and installing Ghostscript and GSView.
- Symantec Antivirus and Ad-Aware Plus are commercial software which can be
download from NYUHome. Log in, click on the "Files" tab, then scroll down the
page.
- A few programs are available by sending a request to the author. For
example, WinBUGS is
in this category.
- TexConvert, WinSCP, PuTTy, Acrobat Reader, FTP Commander, Firefox, Eudora,
and other programs are all freely available on the web.
9.4) Where do I go when I
have a big job and want the machine with the most
RAM?
The four machines in the front row
of Room 335 all have 4GB of RAM.
10.1) What do I do if the
Printer runs out of paper or toner?
If the printer runs out of paper,
get more from the storage closet (immediately to the left of the lounge). If the
toner is low, contact a member of the Data Center Staff or send an e-mail
message to fas.pol.computing@nyu.edu.
11.1) How do I scan a
document?
There is a scanner connected to
System 10 in room 435. Read Scanning a Document for more
information and instructions.
12.1) How do I get an
account for the Data Center Lab?
You should contact Carlos Rios, the
Graduate Program Administrative Aide (carlos.rios@nyu.edu, or Office 202).
12.2) How do I get an
access code to the Data Center Lab?
You should speak to the Data Center
Staff.
12.3) Who can get a Data
Center account?
All faculty, staff, and graduate
students in the Politics Department can get accounts. Other people who may be
given accounts include: students not in these programs who are taking courses in
research methods may be given accounts for the period of the course; and,
research collaborators of authorized users may be given accounts for the period
of a particular project.
13. Wireless Access in the Politics Department
NYU has a wireless network. For instructions on how to access it, go to ITS's FAQ.
14.1) How do I get an NYU e-mail
account?
Follow the instructions listed on
the Faculty Account Information
page.
15.1) How do I get an
NYU e-mail account?
Individuals who have been approved
for Visiting Faculty or Visiting Scholar status at NYU must bring their letter
of appointment as well as their NYU ID card to the ITS Client Services Center,
10 Astor Place, 4th floor, to get their NetID. The NetID is used to properly
authenticate individuals when they are accessing the University's networked
computer resources.
See: http://www.nyu.edu/its/accounts/visiting/
for further info.
15.2) How do I get a
datalab account?
After getting a NetID, see Carlos
Rios who will process the request for a Datalab
account.
15.1) How do I convert a
word document into PDF?
Adobe Acrobat can be used to
convert any document to Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF). In most programs,
you can use the "Print" command and choose "Adobe PDF" as the printer to use.
This does not print out the document, but rather causes it to be converted into
a PDF. There is a related program called "Acrobat Distiller" which can make more
complex PDFs such as encrypted PDFs. Adobe Acrobat and Acrobat Distiller are
installed on all lab computers.
16.1) Who can I get help
from?
If you can send email, it's the
best way to get tech support. Many people will see it and know that you have a
problem. Send an email describing your problem to fas.pol.computing@nyu.edu.
Please be as specific as possible.
When posting a message to help try
to include as much of the following:
- The office or computer lab (335 or 435) that you were working in.
- The PC you were working on (listed as a tag on the monitor, e.g. "System
10").
- The application you were using (Word, Excel, STATA, etc).
- The exact command you entered
- An accurate description of the symptom.
The next best way to get help is to
find the person providing technical support. Go to the Data Center help page for
more information. You can also ask other users for
help.
17.2) What are the Lab
hours?
The Politics Data Center Lab is
available to authorized users at all times at which the University allows access
to the Politics Department. The laboratory may be reserved at certain times for
instructional activities. These reservations will be
posted.
Note that unless you are approved
for after-hours access to the Politics Department, you will need to leave the
Lab by 10:00 p.m. Night-time lab use is monitored periodically by NYU
Security.
17.3) When is the Lab
staffed?
Lab Hours change each semester; but
generally tech support is available for several hours a day at least 4 days per
week. Go to the Data Center help
page for more information.
17.4) Why are requests for
help supposed to be sent via email?
We like email for several reasons.
When you send email to fas.pol.computing@nyu.edu it goes to
everyone who can possibly help you and gets logged into a file that we
hang onto. This has several advantages. First, it maximizes you chance of being
helped. Second, it lets all the staff see what sorts of problems users are
having. Third, it makes it easy for us to 'forward' your problem to someone
outside our group if we need help. Logging the 'help' requests is particularly
useful now that we are putting together a FAQ (frequently asked questions list).
We can go through our help-file and make sure the FAQ answers each question that
was asked.
We hope this makes requests for
email seem less 'flip' to you and encourages you to see them in the constructive
light they are intended.
