Weekly Update 7/9-7/16

This week was unproductive as I was busy with my family. A lot of work on that front which didn't let me spend too much time on my goals.

I did start on the visualizations for the DiD project, but I wasn't able to finish as I had a number of datasets and I wanted to make a SQL database with all of the data in order to save time. I was able to create the database and was able to link a majority of the files to the database, but I was unable to finish the visualizations. This shouldn't take me longer than 3-6 hours, so I will spend tomorrow finishing that up. I want to post this on the website as well.

I'm rereading the third chapter of my probability textbook as I don't have a solid grasp on the material and have thus not finished a chapter so I will spend at least 2 hours a day in order to get up to chapter 5. That is an optimistic goal, but I want to get through as much of this textbook as I can by the end of the summer. I want to utilize statistics to be better at causal inference as well as to understand machine learning on a deeper level.

I wasn't able to start the DiD regressions either, so I will be spending an hour a day in order to be able to get as much done on this project, but I will be doing this after the visualizations. I want to do this after the visualizations as it's been a long time since I was familiarized with state performances on tests like the SAT and ACT and general education reforms in the states of interest. I am not as conversational on this topic as much as I want to be, but I will be done by the end of the summer as an hour a day is more than enough time to refresh my brain and finish these regressions. It should only take 30 minutes to an hour in order to get familiar with performances on the SAT and ACT in states of interest.

I wasn't able to finish the third problem set of the MIT Python course and will thus be spending at least an hour a day on finishing that. I don't know if I will be finished this week as making a hangman game is testing my grasp on basic concepts in Python, so a large part of that hour will be looking through documentation and watching lectures. I might spend longer than an hour in order to properly learn.

I did a lot of practical SAS programming with more clinical trial replications. I need to keep on practicing and working on SAS as well in order to make sure that my skills are up to par. I also need to see how I can expand my skills in SAS and take them to the next level. This is secondary to the rest of my goals for this week.

So, here are my concrete goals for this next week:

Finish visualizations (3-6 hours total)

Get up to chapter 5 in the probability textbook (2 hours a day)

Finish or complete as much as I can for the third Python problem set (1 hour a day)

Get familiarized with high school performance on ACT/SAT in states of interest (2 hours)

Get familiar with education reforms in states of interest (1 hour a day)

Finish as many DiD regressions as I can after familiarizing myself with those states