Course Workspace

Course Workspace

One VS Code folder for everything you write and build this term.

A course template you copy on GitHub and open in VS Code. It keeps your journals, reading notes, project files, and reusable templates in a single folder, version-controlled with Git. Everything is plain Markdown and plain files, so your work is readable anywhere and yours to keep.

Use this template on GitHub

Why one workspace, one tool

You will spend real time in VS Code this term, so we keep everything in it rather than spreading your work across a separate notes app. You write in Markdown, run R, render Quarto, and commit to Git all in the same window. The skills compound: the editor you use for your journal in Week 1 is the editor you use for your analysis in Week 11 and your White Paper in Week 17.

No wiki plugins, no graph views, no second app to learn. Just folders, Markdown files, and Git, which are the same tools working researchers use.

What’s inside

The workspace is a GitHub template repository. When you create your copy and open it in VS Code, you get a ready-to-use folder structure:

v2v-workspace/
├── README.md                # Start here: what each folder is for
├── 00_Inbox/                # Quick capture for unprocessed notes
├── 01_Journal/              # Weekly reading reflections (committed to GitHub)
├── 02_Literature/           # Reading notes and Zotero annotations
├── 03_Project/              # Your research project
│   ├── 01_Prospectus/       # Research design (Chapter 6)
│   ├── 02_Codebook/         # Data dictionary (Chapter 8)
│   ├── 03_Data/             # Sampled data and analysis (Chapters 10 to 12)
│   └── 04_Drafts/           # White Paper drafts (Chapters 13 to 14)
├── 04_Resources/            # PDFs, images, and attachments
├── _templates/              # Reusable templates for journals and codebooks
└── .vscode/                 # Recommended extensions and shared settings

Because the notes are plain Markdown, they open in any editor and read fine on GitHub. The .vscode/ folder ships a short list of recommended extensions, so everyone in the course works in the same environment: the Quarto extension, the R extension, and GitLens. VS Code prompts you to install them the first time you open the folder.

Set it up

The short version is below. For a step-by-step walkthrough with screenshots, follow the Course Workspace setup guide.

1. Create your copy from the template

On the v2v-workspace repository, click Use this template, then Create a new repository. Name it something like mc451-workspace. Keep it private if you prefer.

2. Clone it into VS Code

In VS Code, open the Command Palette (Ctrl/Cmd+Shift+P), run Git: Clone, paste your new repository URL, and choose a location you will remember (for example, Documents/MC451/). VS Code offers to open the folder.

4. Read the README

Open README.md. It walks you through the folder structure and how to start a journal entry from the template.

TipWhy commit to GitHub?

Committing your workspace gives you a backup, a full history of your work, and a way for Dr. Leith to see your journal entries. It also builds the version-control habit you use again in the White Paper.

How it fits the course

Tool Role Relationship to the workspace
Course Workspace (VS Code) Think, plan, reflect Your primary writing and project folder
v2v R package Access course data Loads the Twitch practice corpus you analyze, then reflect on in your journal
R Workbook Learn R skills Work through the workbook labs directly in VS Code
Textbook Conceptual foundation Read online or alongside your workspace

Weekly workflow

  1. Start of week: Open your workspace in VS Code and pull the latest from GitHub (Source Control panel, or git pull).
  2. During the week: Work through the week’s workbook lab and read the textbook chapter.
  3. Before class: Copy _templates/journal-entry.md into 01_Journal/, rename it for the week, and write your reflection.
  4. After class: Commit and push your workspace to GitHub.
NoteDetailed guides

For step-by-step instructions with screenshots, see: