IPA Research and Data Science Hub

Welcome to IPA's Research and Data Science Hub! This repository hosts and centralizes our organization's research and data-oriented resources.

Note

This repository is still work in progress. We are actively developing and updating the contents and site functionalities. Please reach out to GRDS at researchsupport@poverty-action.org if you have any questions/feedback for the hub.

Table of contents

• Repository structure
• Setup
• Contributing
• License
• Contact

Repository structure

Branching strategy

• The main branch is the live and most up-to-date version of the Hub, publicly available to all IPA staff and external users.
• Use release branches for new content that will be published/released in the short term. It can also include potential topics and ideas worth discussing (both from GRDS and non-GRDS contributors).
• Use update branches to update/modify content that is already published in the Hub.
• Use feature branches for modifications to the hub's infrastructure and scaffolding (e.g., the site's theme, layout, navigation, hierarchy, content blocks, prototypes, etc.).
• Use hotfix branches for critical/time sensitive issues affecting the live version of the Hub. These must be prioritized, fixed, and merged into the main branch ASAP.
• Use bugfix branches for less urgent fixes that must be resolved, but are not as time-sensitive to be considered hotfixes.

Setup

Software requirements

Development relies on the following software

• winget (Windows) or homebrew (MacOS/Linux) or snap (Linux) for package management and installation
• git for source control management
• just for running common command line patterns
• uv for installing Python and managing virtual environments
• R for code using R for statistical analysis and data visualization
• Stata for code using Stata for statistical analysis and data visualization
• vale for checking writing style and grammar
• Quarto for rendering the website
• pre-commit for running pre-commit hooks to ensure code quality and consistency of the codebase

This repository uses a Justfile for collecting common command line actions that we run to set up the computing environment and build the assets of the handbook. Note that you should also have Git installed

To get started, make sure you have Just installed on your computer by running the following from the command line:

Platform	Commands
Windows	winget install Casey.Just
Mac/Linux	brew install just

This will make sure that you have the latest version of Just.

• We use Just to make it easier for all IPA users to be productive with data and technology systems. The goal of using a Justfile is to help make the end goal of the user easier to achieve without needing to know or remember all the technical details of how to get to that goal.
• We use uv to help ease use of Python. uv provides a global system for creating and building computing environments for Python.
• We also recommend using in Integrated Development Environment (IDE). Preferred options are VS Code or Positron.
• We use vale to check writing style and grammar. vale is a command line tool that checks your writing style and grammar against a set of rules. It is used to ensure that the content in the Hub is consistent and easy to read.
• We use Quarto to render the website. Quarto is a command line tool that allows you to render documents and websites from Markdown, Jupyter Notebooks, and other formats. It is used to generate the HTML files that are served by the Hub.
• We use pre-commit to run pre-commit hooks to ensure code quality and consistency of the codebase. pre-commit is a framework for managing and maintaining multi-language pre-commit hooks. It is used to ensure that the code in the Hub is consistent and follows best practices.

Installation

As a shortcut, if you already have Just installed, you can run the following to install required software and build a python virtual environment that is used to build the handbook pages:

just get-started

This Just target will install the required software and build a Python virtual environment.

Note: you may need to restart your terminal and IDE after running the command above to activate the installed software.

For R, you may need to add R and RScript to your PATH environment variable if they are not already included. This is necessary for the renv command to work.

If R command is not found, Add R installation path to system environment variable Path. Typical Windows path: C:\Program Files\R\R-x.x.x\bin (replace x.x.x with your R version) Verify that you see the R path in your Path:

$env:Path

If working in a Linux environment, you may need to follow installation instructions for Quarto in the Quarto documents.

For Stata, you will need to obtain the Stata installation files along with an active license.

We also recommend installing the following optional extensions in VS Code (or Positron):

• Quarto
• vscode-markdownlint
• charliermarsh.ruff
• bierner.markdown-preview-github-styles
• chrischinchilla.vale-vscode
• posit.air-vscode
• tamasfe.even-better-toml

Rendering the Hub locally

To preview the Hub locally, you can run the following command:

just preview-docs

This is a Just target for quarto preview that will build the site and start a local server.

To fully build/render the Hub locally, you can run the following command:

just build-docs

This is a Just target for quarto render that will build the site and generate the HTML files.

Contributing

We welcome contributions from all IPA staff members! Please read Contributing Guidelines for detailed information on the Hub development process, writing content in Quarto, and code quality tools.

Quick Start

1. Clone the repository
2. Set up your environment with just get-started
3. Create a new branch following our branching strategy
4. Make your changes
5. Preview locally with just preview-docs
6. Format content with just fmt-all
7. Commit your changes and push to your branch
8. Open a Pull Request

Resources for Contributors

• Contributing Guide - Detailed instructions for contributors
• Markdown Style Guide - Guide to our markdown formatting standards
• Quarto Custom Rules - Technical documentation for our linting rules

Report an Issue

If you find a problem with the Hub:

1. Check if the issue has already been reported in the Issues
2. If not, create a new issue with a clear description and steps to reproduce
3. Add relevant labels and assignees

Request Content

If you'd like to see specific content added to the Hub:

1. Open an issue with the "content request" label
2. Describe the content you'd like to see
3. Explain why it would be valuable to IPA staff

Code Quality and Style

We maintain high standards for code and content quality:

• Markdown Linting: We use markdownlint-cli with custom rules for Quarto
• Writing Style: Vale validates our writing against IPA style guides
• Code Formatting: Python code is formatted with ruff and R code is formatted with air
• Pre-commit Hooks: Automated checks run before each commit using pre-commit

License

The IPA Research and Data Science Hub is licensed under a CC-BY license.

Contact

The IPA Research and Data Science Hub is maintained by the Global Research and Data Science (GRDS) team. For questions, feedback, or suggestions, contact researchsupport@poverty-action.org.