UH Links

Email setup – The Exchange server email will also be your login for MANY official resources including: Teams, Microsoft Office, Library accounts, and more

UH Library and Google Scholar – This link and instructions will allow you to access the full text of many academic resources through Google Scholar using your library account, even when off campus.

Library Search with CougarNet – Log in to Library Search with Cougarnet ID to access full text of journal articles in the library collection even off campus.

UH Social Sciences Librarian – Emma Fontenot Library Guides (includes Political Science, Public Policy, Writing and Research in Social Sciences, and Social Statistics guides)

Microsoft 365 (Free! Don’t pay for this! “Users will be able to download Office on up to five computers and five mobile devices”)

Software Download (More free stuff!) Windows, Mac, Linux

AccessUH – The main login for Student (University Services) and Staff/HR (Administrative Services)

  • Blackboard
  • myUH Self Service
  • Links to software resources here also
  • Student and Employee Training
  • Payroll
  • Expense reporting (for conference travel)
  • Many other things…get acquainted with this.

Free Virtual Backgrounds for Meetings – UH licensed logos and campus settings for virtual meeting backgrounds. Represent UH at online conferences.

Printing for your courses – there is a printer in the Graduate lab, as well as printers in the Student Center and Library. The SC and Library printers allow you $7 each of printing per semester using software from the Software Downloads. The Graduate Lab accounts have changed and we’ll get you more information.

Printing for TA work – There is a printer in the Political Science office break room that can automatically collate and staple multi-page handouts and tests. You’ll need to sign up in the office to use it and it is intended only for your use in TA/RA duties.

Help and Resources

HPE Data Science Institute – free courses and tutorials, certificate programs, support services, research computing resources

UH IT Help Services

Department – Microsoft Teams

Poli-Sci MA Ph.D. channel (includes faculty and staff)

  • General
  • Blackboard Questions
  • Buy and Sell
  • Comps (Comprehensive Exams)
  • Conferences and CFPs
  • Job Opportunities
  • Pedagogy
  • Stats-Latex Software Help

Poli-Sci Grad Support Group channel (student membership only)

  • General
  • Comps
  • Daily Self-Care Goals
  • Daily Academic Goals

Other Software and resources

Required Software for Methods Courses: R, RStudio, LaTex

Important Note: Installation order matters a lot! Read through everything before starting. This was one of the two biggest source of errors in the Methods 1 and 2 courses last year.

R – This is the engine for the stats software package we use. It is FREE. It should be installed first.

RStudio – This is the interface that makes using R much easier. You can survive without it, but all your Methods course materials will assume that you have it. It should be installed second – after R is installed.

LaTeX – An overview of LaTex.

Get LaTeX – the first step is to get a Tex distribution appropriate to your computer. Unless you have a really old computer, you should get the full distribution. For Windows and Linus, TexLive I recommend TexLive. For Mac, MacTex is the best option.

TexStudio – This is the editor that will make it much easier for you to create documents in LaTex. As with R and R Studio, this is the second step after you download the Tex engine (above).

Online options – there are a number of popular online options for creating LaTeX documents including Overleaf . There are pros and cons to Overleaf.

Pro:

  • Good for collaboration
  • Don’t have to install anything at all
  • Quick start

Con:

  • Can’t use it offline at all
  • Not as many shortcuts and tools as TexStudio
  • Graphics are more complicated, in my experience than using the TexStudio Graphicss Wizards
  • Requires an account signup
  • Your work is not on your local computer
  • One of the two biggest sources of LaTeX errors in the Methods 1 and 2 courses last year was the use of Overleaf instead of TexStudio or another locally installed editor

Recommended Software and resources

Github – Great for collaboration.

Research tools

Get a reference manager now. Start using it to organize all your course and research reading now. It will save you many hours later.

Zotero – Reference manager

EndNote – Reference manager available through software downloads for free. Do not pay for it!

Mendeley – Reference manager

Instagrok – research tool

Math help

Summation notation

Set symbols

Intro to logarithms

Other bookmarks including some LaTeX and R links

https://rawcdn.githack.com/tomhanna-uh/POLS6480-Fall2020-UH-lab/0d35aa1adab342324805401e81b37ef2fef0a5b0/Resources/Links%20to%20Resources.html