We give a broad-brush overview of cosmology, including a timeline of events starting from the Big Bang until the present day. We introduce the three pillars of the Big Bang cosmological model, the concepts of homogeneity and isotropy, as well as parsec as a unit of distance. We also introduce natural units, and develop intuition on how to adopt and use them.

Chapter 5 introduces network analysis. Social media data frequently has elements that are amenable to network analysis, including friend/follower networks and retweet networks. This chapter addresses how to collect and operationalize this data into measures appropriate for network analysis. It shows how to collect en masse the timelines of a given set of users, in addition to traversing their friend and follower networks. In addition, it demonstrates how to do so by collecting all tweets of all members of Congress in real time. Finally, it demonstrates in applied form how to identify automated accounts (bots) among the data being collected.

Narrative examples are extraordinarily powerful tools for bringing home a complex issue or difficult concepts. In this chapter, through a case of a patient with PWS, a biopsychosocial formulation is developed. The importance of obtaining a thorough history that attempts to establish a “timeline”– a lifelong trajectory with a sense of the major events – is discussed. The importance of open-ended questions is discussed. The case report in this chapter reviews the history and psychosocial trajectory of an adult male with PWS who presents with worsening sleep disturbance and irritability. The case formulation at the end discusses an integrated holistic understanding of the patient’s presentation and the possible predisposing, perpetuating, precipitating, and protective factors involved. Systemic social factors including caregiver burden and health system structures presenting barriers to improvement are also discussed. The chapter exemplifies the need to recognize the unique clinical presentations of individual patients within their cultural and psychosocial contexts.

Two challenges have been made regarding the Gregory and Thompson 1978 discovery priority of cosmic voids and the extended structure (called “bridges”) that connect one rich cluster with its nearest neighbor(s). The primary challenge is by the Center for Astrophysics group called CfA2 headed by Geller and her late collaborator Huchra. A less significant challenge is by Chincarini, one of the Arizona redshift survey members. These issues are discussed point by point starting with the CfA2 challenge. Table 8.1 summarizes the Arizona work as of 1984–1985 (just before the CfA2 survey began). This table as well as the extensive “timeline” table (Table 8.2) demonstrate that the CfA2 survey was a latecomer in the pioneering period and represents nothing more than an incremental step forward. The Chincarini challenge is based on data that belonged to our Arizona consortium (a subgroup headed by Tarenghi) and was published by Chincarini without permission.

Good research needs good planning. A detailed research plan helps you determine the feasibility of your study and anticipate the issues you will face. In this chapter, I cover logistics and practicalities, how we use pilot studies to test the feasibility of a project, making a timeline, assessing risk, and budgeting.