New Insights on Chemistry and Technology: A Reflection

Important Lessons

Before participating in this course, I had minimal experience with the more technological aspects of chemistry. Through some of my other classes and research experiences, I had gained some knowledge with equipment or computational techniques, but not until this course was I so exposed to the progress that has been made in using computers to forward our knowledge of chemistry. I was aware of many of the advances made in chemical research in regards to chemistry itself, but I had no idea of the technological advances - for example, that 3D printers and AI/machine learning were completely changing the way chemistry can be researched and applied. I think it is absolutely incredible that as technology moves forward so quickly, some research that would normally take years of reading literature research and testing hypothesis can be streamlined through tandem work between computational and experimental chemists, in which computational researchers can narrow down hypotheses so experimental chemists can go into the lab with more knowledge and hopefully support what was found computationally. Not only does this tandem work save money, but it also supports the field of green chemistry in which researchers try to be less wasteful and safer for themselves and the environment.

Programming was never something that in my schooling prior to college or even in our general education requirements now that was emphasized specifically. My generation grew up with technology, so it was expected that we all had a basic understanding of how to use technology such as computers, smartphones, and programs - but knowing how to code was not an expectation, but a niche activity for those who enjoyed such activity or wanted a lucrative job. However, it is becoming more and more necessary for everyone to know how to code at least a little bit. It is incredible to know that now that President Obama has started and intiative so all students must gain exposure in coding sometime while in grades K-12 because it is an important skill to gain. This course has really shown me that coding is important and that it is a skill that can help me be more independent in my future - if I have an idea for a program that can help my research and I know how to code, I will not have to rely on someone else to develop for me, which is incredibly empowering.

I am still largely learning the different disciplines within my field and where distinctions fall, but I for the most part believed that computational and experimental chemists did collaborate, but were rarely the same people, prior to this class. Now I know that even those who work primarily in labs or in product testing still must be able to utilize databases and computer programs at the very least, which I learned mostly from my interview with a development chemist. I expected that I would get very little information from my interview with my chemist since they worked in development, but I was happily surprised to receive a lot of information from them, including how computers can help solve for needed reactions that would take very long for chemists to figure out without the help of a program. My interviewee also mentioned the use of spectrophotometers, which basic version I had used before in a lab setting, but it was quite interesting to hear how precise and advanced spectrophotometers could be with the help of computer software.

Figure 1. Computational models of molecules and proteins from PubChem database, including analysis of accuracy
(Kim, 2013).

Future Actions

This course has caused me to think critically about how aspects of technology impact chemistry and what I need to do to keep up with the changes in my field. I am considering taking a programming course sometime before I graduate - I had always been interested to learn but now I see that it is very crucial for me to acquire these skills. I would like to continue to learn how to utilize databases in part because, for chemistry, they are absolutely necessary tools with how much information is being acquired through research now. I also am currently considering becoming a research professor, so learning in this course how spreadsheets could be manipulated to make a personalized gradebook with code was something I did not know but could be useful in my future career. I hope to and will pursue more chances to work with computational researchers and equipment that require the use of computer software in the next few years so I can have a strong understanding of the complexities of such work and be able to troubleshoot issues better if I ever utilize such skills more regularly. On my own, I can look at journal articles such as those from the Journal of Cheminformatics to acquire new information about this growing field.

Resources:

Kim, S., Bolton, E. E., Bryant, S. H.  (2013). PubChem3D: conformer ensemble accuracy. Journal of Cheminformatics, 5(1).  10.1186/1758-2946-5-1.

Let's Talk About CSS and Google Analytics

The success of websites are crucial to any field. In chemistry specifically, websites that provide access to databases, journals, and products are necessary. Websites must be accessible to users as well, and look professional. The information given by a website could be correct, but if the website has different styles throughout and is hard to navigate, users will lose trust in the content quickly. CSS can help avoid formatting issues in HTML-based websites. It is also important for those who own the websites to be able to analyze who is visiting and other details of those visitors; Google Analytics offers a simple way to do this.

CSS

What is CSS?

CSS stands for Cascading Sheet Styles, and is a coding language that works along with HTML to allow websites to have consistent formatting across pages, as well as make professional presentation of content easier to achieve. CSS can format all text in factors like size, position, color, and other stylistic elements (Girl Develop It, n.d.).

How does CSS work?

CSS works in tandem with HTML in a few different ways. CSS can be utilized in a separate file known as a stylesheet that includes all the formatting data for the main HTML file that houses the content for the website, that are linked together (codecademy, n.d.). CSS can also be included directly in the HTML file, either as a separate style section or inline, though the separate style section is preferred since it deviates farther from standard HTML styling and is easier to use for larger projects (Girl Develop It, n.d.).

What is the CSS language made up of?

CSS uses rules, which are blocks of its code that include selectors and declarations, in which declarations are split into properties and values. Selectors can be for IDs or classes. IDs are reserved for single elements on a webpage, whereas classes are used for elements that are repeated. In the declaration - which comes after the selector - the property defines what will be formatted and the value declares what that formatting will look like (Girl Develop It, n.d.).

Example of CSS rule (Girl Develop It, n.d.).

Google Analytics

What is Google Analytics and how does it work?

Google Analytics is a service provided through Google that allows users to collect data from websites and mobile applications, as well as other digitally connected environments. Google Analytics is implemented differently depending on the digital source, but overall functions in the same way for each situation through a process that only starts with data collection. After raw data is collected, it goes through processing and configuration, and lastly, reporting (Google Analytics, 2013).

The process Google Analytics goes through (Google Analytics, 2013).

Collection

Collection is enabled through different coding techniques in different situations and systems. For websites, a small piece of JavaScript is embedded on each page to send data to Google Analytics' servers as a package known as a "hit" or "interaction" whenever someone visits that page. Some of the types of data that can be included in the "hit" are the browser the visitor is using to access the page, the country they are in as they access the page, and how long they stay on the page. For Blogger specifically - another Google service - only a tracking code must be added to the blog for Google Analytics to link to it and start collecting data. For mobile applications, JavaScript code pieces are not necessarily used, but a different method is used based on the operating system of the device. Data is then collected after an "activity" is completed rather than when someone has simply viewed the page. Data can also be collected when the device is offline and sent back when the device reconnects. Other digital environments can be linked with Google Analytics with similar but more complicated uses of coding (Google Analytics, 2013).

An example of a what Google Analytics looks like once a website has been linked, in this case, the Google Analytics linked to this blog.

Processing and Configuration

Processing is the step in which the raw data that has been sent back to Google Analytics' servers is organized and configuration settings used to process the data. Configuration settings will differ from user to user, and can allow the exclusion of data that may be useless. At the end of processing, data is stored into a database and cannot be changed. The database can then be accessed through the user's Google Analytics account and reports summarizing that processed data are also available there (Google Analytics, 2013).

Reporting: How Can Processed Data Be Analyzed?

Once a user has logged into their Google Analytics account, they can access the reporting interface and manipulate the processed data to utilize it for their needs. Many different aspects of the report can be changed to best analyze the data collected. The active data range can be changed, and also be compared to another date range across all graphs and reports. The main graph can also be changed to display by day, week, or month. Notes can be added to specific dates so the impact - or lack thereof - of events and campaigns can be measured. The metric displayed on the main graph can be changed and compared to another metric, the same way dates could be compared. Most reports also have tables where more data can be viewed and compared at once. Each row shows data for a different value of the dimension being analyzed, which could be country, browser, or something else entirely. The primary dimension is the dimension that will be shown in the first column, while a secondary dimension can be added into the second column so data can be refined. For example, the amount of users from the same country using the same browser to access a page can be analyzed using the country and browser dimensions together. The search feature allows only relevant data to be shown based on a search value. The advanced filter can be used to shown more specific data, which is quite useful when trying to remove sets of data that are so small that they are insignificant. There are a few different view options for reports, which include data view - shows tables, percentage view - shows pie charts, performance view - shows bar graphs, and comparison view - to see how different values are doing against each other. Specific segments of the data table can be viewed on the main graph and compared using the Plot Row feature (Google Analytics, 2013).

To show how useful CSS can be, this blog post was actually made using HTML and CSS instead of Blogger's ready-to-go blog composer.

Resources:

codecademy. (n.d.) CSS: An Overview. [Online Lesson]. Retrieved from: https://www.codecademy.com/en/courses/web-beginner-en-TlhFi/0/1?curriculum_id=50579fb998b470000202dc8b

Girl Develop It. (n.d.) Intro to HTML/CSS. [Slides]. Retrieved from: http://girldevelopit.github.io/gdi-core-html-css/class2.html#/

Google Analytics. (2013, Oct. 31) Digital Analytics Fundamentals - Lesson 3.1 How Google Analytics Works. [Video file]. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eyltEFyZ678

Google Analytics. (2013, Oct. 15) Digital Analytics Fundamentals - Lesson 5.1 Reporting overview. [Video file]. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xyh8iG5mRIs