Lab Setup Instructions

Overview

Each week, you’ll complete lab assignments and add them to your portfolio website. This document explains the one-time setup process and the weekly workflow you’ll follow all semester.

One-Time Setup (Week 1 Only)

Step 0: Clone the Course Repository

First, clone the course repository (you only need to do this once):

  1. Open Terminal/Command Prompt

  2. Navigate to where you want to store course materials:

    cd ~/Desktop  # or wherever you keep school folders

  3. Clone the course repository:

    git clone https://github.com/MUSA-5080-Fall-2025/MUSA-5080-Fall-2025.git

Important: This creates a separate folder from your portfolio repository.

Step 1: Create Labs Folder Structure

In your portfolio repository, create this folder structure:

your-portfolio/
├── _quarto.yml           # You'll edit this
├── index.qmd            # Your home page  
├── weekly-notes/        # Already exists
├── labs/                # CREATE THIS FOLDER
│   └── lab_0/           # CREATE THIS FOLDER
│       ├── lab_0_template.qmd    # You'll copy this file here
│       └── data/        # CREATE THIS FOLDER (copy data folder)
└── ... (other files)

In RStudio: 1. In the Files pane, click “New Folder” 2. Name it labs 3. Inside labs, create another folder called lab_0 4. Inside lab_0, create a folder called data

Step 2: Edit Your Navigation Menu

Open your _quarto.yml file and modify the navbar section to add a Labs menu:

Replace this section:

navbar:
  left:
    - href: index.qmd
      text: Home
    - href: weekly-notes/
      text: Weekly Notes

With this:

navbar:
  left:
    - href: index.qmd
      text: Home
    - href: weekly-notes/
      text: Weekly Notes
    - text: Labs
      menu:
        - href: labs/lab_0/
          text: Lab 0: dplyr Basics

Important: Make sure the indentation matches exactly! YAML is sensitive to spacing.

Step 3: Test Your Setup

  1. Save your _quarto.yml file
  2. In RStudio, go to Build → Render Website
  3. Check that you now see a “Labs” dropdown in your navigation menu

Weekly Workflow (Every Lab)

Step 1: Get the Lab Template

  1. Go to the course repository
  2. Navigate to labs/lab_X/ (where X is the lab number)
  3. Download or copy the lab template files

Step 2: Set Up Your Lab Folder

  1. In your portfolio, create a new folder: labs/lab_X/
  2. Copy the template .qmd file into this folder
  3. Copy any data files into labs/lab_X/data/

Step 3: Customize the Template

  1. Open the lab .qmd file
  2. Update the author field with your name
  3. Complete all the exercises
  4. Fill in all the “[YOUR ANSWER]” sections

Step 4: Update Your Navigation

Add the new lab to your _quarto.yml file:

navbar:
  left:
    - href: index.qmd
      text: Home
    - href: weekly-notes/
      text: Weekly Notes
    - text: Labs
      menu:
        - href: labs/lab_0/
          text: Lab 0: dplyr Basics
        - href: labs/lab_1/           # ADD NEW LABS HERE
          text: Lab 1: [Lab Title]

Step 5: Render and Deploy

  1. Build your site: Build → Render Website

  2. Check locally: Make sure everything looks good

  3. Commit your changes:

    git add .
git commit -m "Complete Lab X: [brief description]"

  4. Push to GitHub:

    git push origin main

  5. Check your live site: Your portfolio should update automatically

Troubleshooting

“Website won’t render”

  • Check your _quarto.yml indentation
  • Make sure all file paths are correct
  • Look for typos in file names

“New lab doesn’t appear in menu”

  • Verify you added it to _quarto.yml
  • Check that the href: path matches your folder structure
  • Make sure you rendered the website after making changes

“Code doesn’t work”

  • Check that data files are in the right location
  • Verify you’re using relative paths: "data/filename.csv"
  • Make sure you’re working within your R project

“GitHub Pages isn’t updating”

  • Confirm you committed and pushed all changes
  • Check that GitHub Actions completed successfully (green checkmark)
  • Wait a few minutes - updates can take time

Tips for Success

  1. Work incrementally: Complete one exercise at a time, render frequently
  2. Use descriptive commit messages: “Complete filtering exercises for Lab 0”
  3. Keep files organized: Don’t put data files in wrong folders
  4. Test locally first: Always render and check before pushing
  5. Ask for help: Use office hours or discussion board if stuck

Example Portfolio Structure (After Several Labs)

your-portfolio/
├── _quarto.yml
├── index.qmd
├── weekly-notes/
│   ├── index.qmd
│   ├── week_01.qmd
│   └── week_02.qmd
├── labs/
│   ├── lab_0/
│   │   ├── index.qmd
│   │   └── data/
│   │       └── car_sales_data.csv
│   ├── lab_1/
│   │   ├── index.qmd
│   │   └── data/
│   │       └── census_data.csv
│   └── lab_2/
│       ├── index.qmd
│       └── data/
│           └── housing_data.csv
└── docs/                    # Generated by Quarto
    ├── index.html
    ├── weekly-notes/
    ├── labs/
    └── ...

By the end of the semester, you’ll have a professional portfolio showcasing all your data analysis work!

Questions?

  • Technical issues: Post on Canvas discussion board
  • Conceptual questions: Come to office hours
  • GitHub problems: Include error messages in your questions