This course builds on the R/tidyverse programming skills developed in DATA-412/612 for the collection, organization, analysis, interpretation, and presentation of data. Topics include version control, web scraping, date manipulation, vectorized operations, web application development with R Shiny, R package development, and introductions to SQL and python.
git version control
software.Almost all course material will be posted and accessed through
GitHub. git is a widely used version control
system for collaborating, deploying, and managing data science
projects. git works by saving snapshots, or “commits”, of
your projects. These snapshots are always retrievable, even if you make
further changes to your code/notes/reports. You can also write small
descriptions of what you have accomplished since the last time you
committed. GitHub is a website that
hosts git repositories. We will spend the first week or two
covering git and the command line. Following that, all
assignments will be accessed and submitted through git.
git allows me to view your progress on an
assignment, I will sometimes accept a late assignment if I see some
progress and a consistent commit history in that
assignment. This should only be used under extraordinary circumstances.
If I do not see any progress in an assignment, I will not accept a late
submission.We will have four closed book, closed computer, closed notes, closed calculator quizzes for a total of 40% of the grade (about 10% each).
My intention is to make these straightforward (no trick questions). But you will still have to know the material to do well on them.
I will provide practice questions to study from.
I plan on each quiz taking about 30 minutes.
All students will prepare a final project using the tools learned in the class. This project will be completed in groups of 2-3 students. Work with me to get your project topic approved. Tentatively, your project will involve creating an R package.
Usual grade cutoffs will be used:
| Grade | Lower | Upper |
|---|---|---|
| A | 93 | 100 |
| A- | 90 | 92 |
| B+ | 88 | 89 |
| B | 83 | 87 |
| B- | 80 | 82 |
| C+ | 78 | 79 |
| C | 73 | 77 |
| C- | 70 | 72 |
| D | 60 | 69 |
| F | 0 | 59 |
Individual assignments will not be curved. However, at the discretion of the instructor, the overall course grade at the end of the semester may be curved.
All assignments must be submitted, in class, on the day they are due. You will be penalized 15% every day an assignment is late. I will not accept assignments submitted over three days after the deadline. If you become ill or the victim of an emergency, please let me know within 48 hours.
Students requiring a temporary leave of absence for medical or mental health reasons must provide documentation to the Office of the Dean of Students (dos@american.edu), which will verify with the academic unit that the documentation is appropriate and supports the leave. Students with an ASAC-approved accommodation for disability reasons should, to the greatest extent possible, make arrangements in advance of the due date or deadline.
Generative AI will be allowed for homeworks and the final project.
If you use generative AI you must include an appendix with your prompts and resulting output. You can alternatively use a share link (e.g., ChatGPT has this feature).
This can either be by printing the webpage to PDF, or by copying and pasting the prompts and output to a Word file that you then convert to a PDF.
If you use generative AI, then failure to include a generative AI appendix or share link will be considered a violation of the academic integrity code.
I still expect you to be able to explain your work on assignments/projects and your rationale. Based on your explanation (or lack thereof), I may modify your grade.
I mostly want to see how students use generative AI and see whether I need to adapt my teaching. So please take this seriously.
Generative AI (like ChatGPT) gives the most accurate solutions for simple problems — that is, problems you do in college.
Generative AI gives the least accurate solutions for hard problems — that is, problems you do in work.
But you need to know the simple stuff (stuff in college) in order to be able to learn the hard stuff (stuff in work).
So if you use generative AI for college, I think you are cheating yourself.
Data Science and Statistics are also special fields in that a degree will only get you an interview, it won’t get you a job.
Companies want to make sure you know the simple stuff (stuff in college) so that they can be sure you can learn the hard stuff (stuff in work).
So if you rely on generative AI, you won’t learn the foundational skills and you will have trouble finding a job.
Thus, I will just have more in-class assessment and lower the weight of homeworks.
We will have three quizzes that will be closed notes/books/computer/calculator. No reference sheet will be allowed.
If you rely too much on generative AI, you will likely fail those quizzes. Homeworks are the best practice for exams.
Standards of academic conduct are set forth in the university’s Academic Integrity Code. By registering for this course, students have acknowledged their awareness of the Academic Integrity Code and they are obliged to become familiar with their rights and responsibilities as defined by the Code. Violations of the Academic Integrity Code will not be treated lightly and disciplinary action will be taken should violations occur. This includes cheating, fabrication, and plagiarism.
I expect you to work with others and me, and I expect you to use online resources as you work on your assignments/projects. However, your submissions must be composed of your own thoughts, coding, and words. You should be able to explain your work on assignments/projects and your rationale. Based on your explanation (or lack thereof), I may modify your grade.
If you use an online resource, please cite it with a URL (this is perfectly fine!). If you use a generative AI, see the above policy.
If you do not understand an online resource, but believe it to be useful for a project/assignment, please ask me for help.
It is a violation of the Academic Code of Integrity if you obtain past homework solutions from students who took the course previously (whether they wrote those solutions, or I wrote those solutions). There are mistakes in my solutions that students point out to me. I look out for these while I grade to see if you have access to my solutions.
All solutions that I provide are under my copyright. These solutions are for personal use only and may not be distributed to anyone else. Giving these solutions to others, including other students or posting them on the internet, is a violation of my copyright and a violation of the student code of conduct.
A short guide for students on how to meet the expectations of the AU’s Academic Integrity Code
* Tentative, subject to change.
At the discretion of the faculty member and before the end of the semester, the grade of I (Incomplete) may be given to a student who, because of extenuating circumstances, is unable to complete the course during the semester. The grade of Incomplete may be given only if the student is receiving a passing grade for the coursework completed. Students on academic probation may not receive an Incomplete. The instructor must provide in writing to the student the conditions, which are described below, for satisfying the Incomplete and must enter those same conditions when posting the grades for the course. The student is responsible for verifying that the conditions were entered correctly.
Conditions for satisfying the Incomplete must include what work needs to be completed, by when the work must be completed, and what the course grade will be if the student fails to complete that work. At the latest, any outstanding coursework must be completed before the end of the following semester, absent an agreement to the contrary. Instructors will submit the grade of I and the aforementioned conditions to the Office of the University Registrar when submitting all other final grades for the course. If the student does not meet the conditions, the Office of the University Registrar will assign the default grade automatically.
The Associate Dean of the Academic Unit, with the concurrence of the instructor, may grant an extension beyond the agreed deadline, but only in extraordinary circumstances. Incomplete courses may not be retroactively dropped. An Incomplete may not stand as a permanent grade and must be resolved before a degree can be awarded.
This syllabus is a guide for the course and is subject to change with advanced notice. These changes may come via email. Make sure to check your university-supplied email regularly. You are accountable for all such communications.