An introduction to Python Programming for Research

An introduction to Python Programming for Research

This note is used in a course about programming for data analysis and visualisation in research in University College London. So it's not mainly about Python.

Tag(s): Python

Publication date: 12 Jan 2016

ISBN-10: n/a

ISBN-13: n/a

Paperback: 362 pages

Views: 12,247

Type: N/A

Publisher: n/a

License: n/a

Post time: 24 Mar 2016 08:00:00

An introduction to Python Programming for Research

An introduction to Python Programming for Research This note is used in a course about programming for data analysis and visualisation in research in University College London. So it's not mainly about Python.
Tag(s): Python
Publication date: 12 Jan 2016
ISBN-10: n/a
ISBN-13: n/a
Paperback: 362 pages
Views: 12,247
Document Type: N/A
Publisher: n/a
License: n/a
Post time: 24 Mar 2016 08:00:00
From the Preface:
Matt Clarkson wrote:This note is used in a course about programming for data analysis and visualisation in research in University College London. So it's not mainly about Python. But, the course has to use some language. Python was chosen because it is quick to program in, is popular in research, and has lots of libraries for science. Python also interfaces well with faster language and finally, it's free.

Writing programs for research is a necessity since scripted research can be tested and reproduced. For a research team, programs are a rigorous way of describing data analysis for other researchers, as well as for computers. Computational research suffers from people assuming each other’s data manipulation is correct.  By sharing codes, which are much more easy for a non-author to understand than spreadsheets, we can avoid the "SIRO" (Sensible input Reasonable output) problem. The old saw “Garbage in Garbage out” is not the real problem for science.




About The Author(s)


Dr Matt Clarkson is a Lecturer in the Department of Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering at University College London. His research in medical imaging is concerned with the development of novel image processing algorithms, and applying these within fields such as bio-marker development, and more recently in the development of software systems for image guided surgery.

Matt Clarkson

Dr Matt Clarkson is a Lecturer in the Department of Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering at University College London. His research in medical imaging is concerned with the development of novel image processing algorithms, and applying these within fields such as bio-marker development, and more recently in the development of software systems for image guided surgery.


Dr James Hetherington is a research software engineer, combining the skills and experience of a computational scientist with those of a professional software engineer. He is the leader of UCL’s Research Software Development team, working with researchers to produce maintainable, usable, well-tested scientific software that will have a lasting impact.

James  Hetherington

Dr James Hetherington is a research software engineer, combining the skills and experience of a computational scientist with those of a professional software engineer. He is the leader of UCL’s Research Software Development team, working with researchers to produce maintainable, usable, well-tested scientific software that will have a lasting impact.


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