PPHA 30538: Data Analytics and Visualization for Public Policy

Winter 2026

University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy

Peter Ganong and Maggie Shi

Minilesson Recordings

Found here, too big to push to the student repo

Repository Structure

Lectures are stored in the lectures folder. Within each folder, each lecture will have its own folder with slides. Each problem set and mini-lesson will have their own folders within their respective folders.

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Accessing the Repository

Step 1: Fork the Repository

• Go to the original repository on GitHub.
• Click the Fork button in the upper-right corner of the repository page. This will create a personal copy of the repository in your GitHub account.

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Step 2: Clone Your Forked Repository

1. In your GitHub account, navigate to your forked repository.
2. Click the green Code button and copy the HTTPS URL, https://github.com/uchicago-harris-dap/student30538-w26.
3. Open a terminal and run the following command:

   git clone https://github.com/uchicago-harris-dap/student30538-w26

Step 3: Set the Upstream Remote

(Optional but recommended to keep your fork updated.)

1. Navigate to the cloned repository in your terminal:

   cd student30538-w26

2. Add the upstream remote:

   git remote add upstream https://github.com/uchicago-harris-dap/student30538-w26

3. Confirm your remotes:

   git remote -v

Step 4: Sync Your Fork with the Original Repository

1. Fetch updates from the original repository:

   git fetch upstream

2. Merge the updates into your local branch:

   git merge upstream/main

   Replace main if the default branch has a different name (e.g., master).

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Setting up your environment

1. cd into the repository
2. Create and/or activate the Conda environment named dap, then install the Python dependencies listed in environment.yml:

   conda env create -n dap -f environment.yml   # first‑time setup
   conda activate dap                            # run this every time you work on the repo

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Registering the Jupyter kernel

Quarto’s Preview button in VS Code launches a Jupyter kernel whose name is defined in _quarto.yml (jupyter: dap). Register that kernel once per machine so Quarto always finds the dap Conda environment regardless of local paths:

conda activate dap               # ensure the env is active
python -m ipykernel install \
       --user \
       --name dap \
       --display-name "dap"

After this step jupyter kernelspec list should include a line like:

dap          /Users/…/Library/Jupyter/kernels/dap

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Install Quarto and Jupyter Extension

1. Open VS Code
2. Open Extensions (Cmd + Shift + X on Mac, Ctrl + Shift + X on Windows)
3. Search for Quarto and install (publisher: Quarto)
4. Search for Jupyter and install (publisher: Microsoft)
5. Restart VS Code

Feel free to reach out via EdDiscussion if you have any questions or run into any issues. Happy coding!