Whether recording and analyzing data or documenting the results most modern laboratory work is done with the assistance of a computer.  Throughout the course we will use computer applications and analysis techniques that are commonly used by researchers.  I don’t expect you to gain a complete mastery of these tools from your experience in this course; the goal is just for you to become familiar with some of the tools that are available.

I have specifically selected software applications that are freely available for you to download and that run well in Windows, Mac, or Linux environments.  This allows you to install and run these applications on your personal computer.  There are enough computers in the laboratory for each student to have lab computer for their exclusive use during core experiments.  You may also choose to bring your personal laptop to lab and use it.

Using Your Computer and Logbook Simultaneously

The computer can be an excellent tool for efficiently carrying out data recording and plotting tasks that were traditionally done on the graph-ruled pages of your laboratory logbook.  However, it is easy to overwrite data, lose track of history, or fail to record important information with the computer.  For this reason, you should use the computer to prepare paper plots or supplement information in your paper logbook.  The computer is not a replacement for your paper logbook!  Below are some guidelines for using the computer in the lab.

1. •All information regarding the configuration of the equipment, purpose of the lab, goals of the experiment, etc. should be recorded in your paper logbook.
   

2. •When using the computer to record data (tables of numbers) that you could reasonably write in your logbook, immediately print out the tables and cut and tape them into your logbook.
   

3. •If large data files must be saved on the computer, write the file name, date, and time of creation in your logbook to avoid confusion.
   

4. •It is helpful to use the computer to quickly plot graphs, especially for example, when a logarithmic scale is desired.  These graph should be printed and taped into the logbook right after they are generated.  Also remember that the goal is efficiency -- the graph itself does not need to be “publication quality.”  For example the axes can be labeled and notes can be added with a pen after printing.  Often key data plots will be remade to look nice before inserting them in a paper.
   

5. •Back up all files.  Important data files and lab write-ups should be copied to either a centralized network drive for later access, emailed to yourself, or put on a flash drive.
   

Common Software

The following tools will likely be used for most lab experiments and have been installed on all desktop machines in the laboratory.

1. •ROOT:  The ROOT analysis package was developed for particle physics research but its use and, consequently, ease of use, has grown dramatically.  We will use ROOT for making graphs and histograms, fitting data, and writing computer simulations.  In order to use ROOT one needs to be familiar with C++ since all ROOT commands are written in C++.  I will provide many scripts to automate tasks in ROOT; however, it will be useful for you to become familiar with basic C++ syntax.  You can find a brief ROOT tutorial for the course here.
   

2. •Excel:  Excel provides an easy-to-use framework for recording data, making fast plots, and doing repeated computation on tables of numbers.  You may choose to record tables of data in Excel while working on a lab.  Excel’s curve fitting, histogram generation, and presentation capabilities fall short of ROOT.  Tables of numbers that have been recorded with Excel can be saved as tab-delimited text for easy import and analysis in ROOT.
   

3. •MiKTeX (LaTeX):  MiKTeX is a Windows version of the popular typesetting program LaTeX.  We will use LaTeX to generate reports for the course.  Similar packages are available for other platforms.  Mac users should consider using TeXShop.
   

4. •Adobe Illustrator: This is the industry standard software for making drawings of any type.  It can be used to draw diagrams of equipment.  Illustrator is also helpful for editing PDF figures that are generated by ROOT.  Illustrator is freely available to all IU students through the Adobe license agreement with IU.  Machines in the lab have been setup with the full Adobe suite of applications.  Illustrator is the only application that is likely to be useful for the lab.
   

5. •Visual Studio C++:  The Visual Studio C++ package is needed to provide libraries to run ROOT.  We will only be using the package to edit C++ scripts that will be run in ROOT.  The code editor in Visual Studio behaves similar to other editors -- no experience is needed to do simple things that we will need to do.
   

Special Use Software

1. •Logger Pro:  distributed by Vernier, this software will be used to acquire data
   

2. •Matlab:  used for acquiring and plotting data from the National Instruments DAQPad that is used in the chaotic motion experiment
   

3. •SpectraSuite:  readout for the Ocean Optics spectrophotometer that used in the analysis of black-body radiation
   

4. •Maestro-32:  multi-channel analyzer software for use with Ortec multi-channel buffers
   

5. •ADCMCA:  readout for the AmpTek multi-channel analyzer