How to Organize Your Code Projects (Your Future Self Will Thank You!)

Learn essential principles of folder organization and version control that will make your research projects more professional and collaborative. This video covers the three fundamental rules from Gentzkow and Shapiro's guide to coding in the social sciences, plus practical version control strategies using Git and GitHub.

What you'll learn:
📁 The three rules of folder organization for research projects
🔄 How to separate inputs from outputs effectively
📊 Best practices for managing relational databases in economics research
🌐 Introduction to version control with Git and GitHub
📝 Why your future self will thank you for good organization

Key Topics Covered:
Rule 1: Separate folders by function
Rule 2: Separate inputs from outputs
Rule 3: Use relative file paths for portability
Version control fundamentals
GitHub workflow for research collaboration
Managing iterative research processes

Perfect for graduate students, researchers, and anyone working on data analysis projects in economics, political science, sociology, or other social sciences.

#researchmethods #DataScience #Econometrics #GitHub #VersionControl #CodingBestPractices #GraduateSchool #Economics #DataAnalysis #ResearchOrganization #Git #RStats #Python #Academia #Research

---
Tyler Ransom is an Associate Professor of Economics at the University of Oklahoma. Subscribe for more videos on data science, econometrics, and research methods!
Editing credit: @neiljohnmanllios3064 ​