Things to know before beginning the online course
Preparation for the course
To perform all of the exercises, except the first two, you will need to use the Distance program. This software works with the Windows operating system. If you are working on a Mac or Linux machine, you will need to use emulation software to run Distance on your computer. Hints for use of emulators can be found on this page.
Software
The Distance program is free to download and use. Following this link will take you to a page where, after completing a brief questionnaire, you can download the setup program and install it onto your computer. If you are accessing this page from People’s Republic of China, you will not be able to download the software from the link provided, please contact us to receive download instructions.
Data
Data to be analysed for each of the computer exercises will be in the form of .zip archive files. These files can be opened by the Distance program, but are not directly readable by you. Links will be provided throughout the course materials for downloading data sets associated with each exercise.
Lectures
Audio and video of lectures have been recorded and will be presented when a visitor accesses the video links. Lectures are also available in Portable Document Format (PDF). These can be downloaded and annotated while listening to the lectures. You will need software, such as Adobe Reader to view these files. Many internet browsers have PDF readers embedded in them.
Exercises
Written descriptions of exercises are supplemented with short oral introductions describing the main features of each exercise. There is also a video associated with the solution to each exercise. These range from short summaries of the main points of exercises, to detailed demonstrations of analyses conducted in Distance along with interpretations. The description and solution files are in PDF format.
Making comments and questions
At the bottom of each of the chapter pages, we have a facility for you to provide questions or comments using Disqus. You can provide feedback to us using this system. You will need to register to use this service (to reduce chances of spam on the site). However, registration is simple, and can be accomplished with your Google/Facebook/Twitter accounts. You can also make comments as a guest, but we prefer that you register. Give Disqus a try.
