{"id":128,"date":"2026-09-09T19:41:10","date_gmt":"2026-09-09T19:41:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www-devel.ssc.wisc.edu\/?p=128"},"modified":"2026-10-01T14:41:16","modified_gmt":"2026-10-01T14:41:16","slug":"sscc-news-for-september-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www-devel.ssc.wisc.edu\/index.php\/2026\/09\/09\/sscc-news-for-september-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"SSCC News for September 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Welcome to the SSCC!<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If this is your first SSCC News, we welcome you to the Social Science Computing Core! Whether you\u2019re a new faculty member, a new grad student, or an undergrad taking a class that uses SSCC services, we\u2019re here to help you succeed. Visit the SSCC web site<\/a>\u00a0to learn about the services we provide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SSCC News comes out roughly once every two months. If you\u2019d rather not receive it, feel free to reply with \u2018unsubscribe\u2019. But if you\u2019re not interested because you no longer need your SSCC account, let us know and we\u2019ll close it for you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SSCC Training<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

SSCC\u2019s fall training<\/a> is underway. A few highlights:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Data Visualization in R for Researchers had to be rescheduled to September 16th, so it\u2019s not too late to register<\/a>. This new workshop won\u2019t just teach you R\u2019s powerful ggplot<\/code> package; it will teach you how to communicate your data and results effectively. It also covers plots for regression diagnostics and the ggeffects<\/code> package. Python users who are interested in data visualization should also take this workshop, as you can implement what it teaches in plotnine<\/code> (a Python port of ggplot<\/code>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Testing Data Wrangling Code in Stata<\/a> will help you answer one of the hardest questions SSCC\u2019s stat consultants get: \u201cIs this right?\u201d It\u2019s also the SSCC\u2019s first workshop specifically designed for an AI world. It\u2019s not about AI, but we consider the practices it teaches to be essential if you\u2019re going to let AI write research code for you. (Look for an R version of the workshop in the near future, but the focus is on practices, not code, and anyone who writes data wrangling code could benefit from attending.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Caitlin Tefft will once again teach her popular series of workshops on Qualitative Data Analysis, including introductions to NVivo<\/a> and MAXQDA<\/a>. We are trying to make support for qualitative research a permanent part of the SSCC\u2019s services, but it\u2019s possible this will be the last time these workshops are offered. If you are interested in qualitative work, take advantage of Caitlin\u2019s training and consulting<\/a> now!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Data Impact Forum<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Data Impact Forum<\/a> (September 21, 5:30-7:30) will showcase UW\u2013Madison\u2019s data consultancies & services, including SSCC, IRP, the Data Science Institute, the Statistical Consulting Group, and many more. Come learn about the data services that can impact your research!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Posit Assistant Now Supported by SSCC<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

RStudio on all SSCC servers now supports Posit Assistant<\/a>, though you\u2019ll need to pay for your own subscription to use it. Posit Assistant is essentially Claude with RStudio itself as the \u201cagent harness\u201d (the tool the AI uses to interact with the world). The SSCC\u2019s statistical consultants have been using it and will do their best to answer questions about it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As some of you already know, it\u2019s possible to use other AI tools with SSCC servers. The SSCC\u2019s statistical consultants cannot be experts on all the available tools, but feel free to send in questions and we\u2019ll do our best. Even the questions we cannot answer are useful in helping us decide what to learn next.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Data Science Help Desk<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Data Science Institute\u2019s Facilitation Team (formerly the Data Science Hub) has started offering Help Desk hours. Just drop in (no appointment needed):<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tuesdays, 2:30-4:30, Morgridge Hall Commons (Room 2564C)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thursdays, 2:30-4:30, Memorial Library, Room 240<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whether you have a bug in your Python code, want to learn how to use git, or are curious about AI, DSI\u2019s facilitators can get you pointed in the right direction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The SSCC Help Desk is Now the ITS Service Desk<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The L&S Information Technology Services Service Desk is now handling all questions and problem reports sent to the SSCC Help Desk. You can continue to use helpdesk@ssc.wisc.edu<\/a>; in fact it\u2019s helpful to them if questions about SSCC services go to that address. But feel free to use any of the contact methods for L&S ITS<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Note that there is no longer a drop-in help desk in 4226 Sewell Social Sciences Building, but the Service Desk has longer hours than the old SSCC Help Desk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Record Slurm Usage, and Adapting To It<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

August set a new record for usage of the Slurm cluster, over 1.4 million core-hours. We\u2019re happy to see the cluster put to work, but it has sometimes led to increased wait times. In the past we\u2019ve nudged you towards using more Slurm resources rather than letting them sit idle, but with the cluster busier now it\u2019s time to think more about efficiency, which will also reduce your wait time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n