Throughout my undergraduate education and research, using spreedsheets has become like putting on pants. It provides many useful recording and analytical tools to manage. However, this semester I was introduced to relational databases, which seemed like pants that were much more difficult to get on. At first, I was really confused about everything from the terminlogy to the navigation. After working through the assignments and projects, I feel a lot more confident in understanding relational databases. I've found that they remove a lot of redundancy in data, and I particularly like tables that break it down in to smaller parts. Relational databases also are nice if you're sharing access with others and if it needs to be modified by others. Spreedsheets have more repeitition and aren't great for combining related data as concisely.
In class, we had to explore databases and apply our knowledge in a database project. The first project was to take a csv of data and create an ER diagram from it. My partner and I chose data relating to hydropower and dams from the CORGIS website. Our ER diagram consisted of three tables: Dams, Developed, and Location (all which had their own attributes). After we created an ER diagram, we had to make summaries for each table. For the final database, we need to use more complex tools like SQlite DB browser. We took the same hydropower csv and created tables in the DB browser. From here, we imported the csv, created export queries, executed SQL commands, created tables, and ran non-trivial queries. With all of these tasks done, we were able to construct our presentation for the class with our two non-trivial queries: 1. What dam's watercourse is the Rio Grande and also in the state of New Mexico? 2. What dams in Arizona are taller than 300 meters?
Through this process of completing the project, I learned so much about database. First, I learned that sometimes you really have to look at the data and understand how it is related. I probably adjusted and changed the ER diagram about ten times before it seemed like a logical representation with corresponding tables. Once that puzzle was solved and once it was put into the DB browser, it became so easy to organize, navigate, and query. I actually really liked the non-trivial queries we had to do because it reminded me of many times that would have been useful working with data in wildlife research. I also learned that a lot of it after that is just understanding how to write the SQL commands, which is intimidating but easy to learn. There are still some logistical aspects of databases that I wouldn't say I am competent in, like creating the summaries from the ER diagrams, but overall I feel have a grasp on the big picture and primary functions.
I still plan on pursuing a masters degree in conservation biology, but I want to incoporate continued learning and use of databases in my educational and career goals. Before this class, I didn't really consider databases a critical thing to include in my field. However, after having down the project and understanding the usefulness and intricasies of databases, I believe that furthering my knowledge of them will ultimately benefit the research and work that I do. While it's too late to incorporate it into my undergraduate degree, when I start in a masters program, I hope to incorporate some computing/database classes to strengthen my abilities and get some more practice. I also want to find a way to incorporate database knowledge with GIS since it's such a critical tool in wildlife biology. I know GIS has its own set of data navigation, but it still needs a way to share and relate the data.
Thank you! Happy Holidays!
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