ICT583

Data Science Applications

Unit Information and Learning Guide

Semester 2, 2022

Unit coordinator
Dr. Guanjin Wang
Discipline of Information Technology
Email: Guanjin.Wang@murdoch.edu.au
Science and Computing Building 245.1.028
© Published by Murdoch University, Perth, Western Australia, July 2022.

Written by Guanjin Wang, 2022

This publication is copyright. Except as permitted by the Copyright Act no part

of it may in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording
or any other means be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or be broadcast or
transmitted without the prior written permission of the publisher.
 CONTENTS

UNIT INFORMATION

ONE Introduction 1
TWO Contact details 3
THREE How to study this unit 4
FOUR Resources for this unit 6
FIVE Study schedule 7
SIX Assessment details 8
Data Science Applications
ICT583

Unit Information

This information should be read in conjunction with

the online learning materials which can be found on
your MyUnits page.
 ONE
Introduction

Unit overview

Welcome to ICT583 Foundations of Data Science Applications.

The objective of this unit is to introduce important concepts in
data science such as basic statistics, preparing data, visualizing
data, extracting hidden patterns via exploratory data analysis,
building predictive models and to help students put the learned
knowledge into a real-world data science context. The unit will
also develop an understanding of common applications in
different domains that build upon data science.
Topics are selected from fundamental statistics, data pre-
processing, data visualization, machine learning, predictive
analytics and case studies on modern data science applications. R
language is introduced and used for data analysis.

Prerequisites

Enrolment in a postgraduate IT Course or permission of the

Academic Chair.

Learning outcomes of the unit

On successful completion of the unit you should:

 1. demonstrate an understanding of basic statistical concepts
relevant to data science;
2. demonstrate an understanding of the basic ideas and
techniques behind different data science applications;
3. apply appropriate predictive modelling and data analysis
methods in the real-world context and analyse results;
4. apply practical knowledge in data wrangling, visualization,
and analysis using R.

Graduate attributes developed in the unit

This unit will contribute to the development of the following

Graduate Attributes:
See
https://our.murdoch.edu.au/Educational-Development/Preparing
-to-teach/Graduate-attributes/

1. Critical thinking.
2. Independent and lifelong learning.
3. Knowledge of a field of study.
4. Communication.
 TWO
Contact details

Unit coordinator contact details

Name: Dr Guanjin Wang

Email: ICT583@murdoch.edu.au
Room: Science and Computing Building 245.1.028

Tutor contact details

This will be announced at the first lecture.

Administrative contact details

ABLSS.Operations@murdoch.edu.au

Technical help
For technical difficulties contact the IT Service Desk:
Online: https://murdochuni.service-now.com/its
ITservicedesk@murdoch.edu.au
Phone: +61 9360 2000

For difficulties with other online materials contact the Unit

Coordinator.
 THREE
How to study this unit

The unit is divided into several topics. It is taught at the pace of

approximately one topic per teaching week. Some topics may
take slightly longer than one lecture to complete.

There is one 2-hour lecture per week over the 12 teaching weeks.
There is also one 1-hour tutorial/lab for each topic that students
can do practice on the content of the topic.

You should attend the lecture and tutorial/lab each week. It is

advisable that you read the lecture notes before attending the
respective lecture and re-read the lecture notes after each lecture.
It is essential to read and prepare answers before the
respective tutorial/lab session. You are suggested to note any
question you have before attending the lab and get help from
your tutor in class. It would be best if you also spent as much
time as necessary after the relevant tutorial/lab session to
reinforce the exercises' knowledge.
During the semester, you are required to complete two major
assignments. The first major assignment is due around the middle
of the semester. The second major assignment is due near the end
of the semester.

You must complete all tutorials/labs. Students who fail to

complete will often end up having great difficulties in completing
the assignments. You should seek help from your tutor if you are
experiencing learning difficulties. Your tutor will do his best to
help you.
 Additionally, this is a Masters-level unit. As such, you are
expected to demonstrate a deeper understanding of the issues
than would be expected in an undergraduate unit. A strategy
based on memorizing the lecture slides' content for the final
exam is not a good one for this unit.

Time commitment

Each student is expected to spend on average three hours per teaching

week reading the lecture notes, books chapters and other
recommended materials relevant to the topic covered in that week and
spend a similar amount of time working on the workshop exercises for
that week. In addition, each student is required to complete every
assignment and sit the final examination.

Student feedback

This is a new unit, which is delivered the first time in 2020. The unit
will evolve in the coming years based on the changes in the relevant
literature, the feedback from the students and the students’ results. As
students you will have the opportunity to contribute to the unit’s
ongoing improvement during the upcoming semester.
 FOUR
Resources for this unit

To undertake study in this unit, you will need:

Lecture notes

Copies of the lecture notes, tutorials and lab code, will be made
available from the unit LMS.

Textbooks

Ozdemir, S. (2016). Principles of Data Science: Learn the

techniques and math you need to start making sense of your data.
Packt Publishing Ltd.

Skiena, S. S. (2017). The data science design manual. Springer.

Mailund, T. (2017). Beginning Data Science in R: Data Analysis,

Visualization, and Modelling for the Data Scientist. Apress.

The following will be provided during the teaching period:

Articles (research journals)
Web sites and resources
Videos

You are strongly encouraged to make extensive use of the

Library journal databases in this unit.
 FIVE
Study schedule
This proposed timetable will help you to plan your study over the
semester. Please note that this is a guideline and the order and exact
title of topics may change. The general themes will however remain
consistent.

Week Topic

1 Introduction to the Unit/ Introduction to data science

2 Mathematical preliminaries

3 Statistical analysis

4 Data manipulation

5 Data visualization

6 Mid-term review

7 Building and validating models

8 Linear regression

9 Logistic regression
10 Topics in machine learning

11 Guest lecture: data analytics in healthcare applications

12 Unit Review
 SIX
Assessment details
Assessment components
Assessment consists of coursework and a final exam, with the following
weightings:

Assessment Assessment Description Demonstrates Weighting

type name learning
outcomes
Exercise Mid-term Midterm exercise ULO01-04 30%
assignment will cover a series
of theoretical and
(Individual)
practical questions
(using R) to help
students reinforce
the knowledge and
skills learned from
weekly topics.

Project + Assignment Students will work ULO01-04 30%

Report : Data in groups to
science perform data pre-
application processing,
project exploratory data
analysis and
(Group)
appropriate
modelling on a real-
world scenario
using R. Students
will describe the
whole project in a
report.
Examination Final exam There will be a final ULO01-03 40%
examination at the
end of the unit to
assess students’
learning objectives.

Examination

Students may inspect their marked examination scripts and discuss the
marking with the Unit Coordinator, or nominee, within 10 University
business days of the posting of results (Assessment Policy 6.9.2).

For further information about examinations, refer to

https://www.murdoch.edu.au/mymurdoch/support-advice/student-admin/
exams

Assignment submission

All assignments are to be submitted electronically via the

Assignments page on LMS.

If you cannot submit your assignments in this fashion contact the Unit
Coordinator by the end of the second week of semester to make
alternative arrangements.

Backup copies
 It is your responsibility to keep a copy of any assignment handed in
for assessment purposes. It is recommended that you keep both a hard
copy and several electronic copies.
Late submission

Assessment submissions that are not received by the due date will be
regarded as late unless an extension has been granted by the unit
coordinator. Applications for extensions should be made as soon as a
problem is experienced and must be accompanied by documentation,
such as a doctor's certificate. Email the unit coordinator. Late work
may attract a penalty of 10% (of the mark for that piece of
assessment) per day late, up to and including 10 days late. Work
submitted more than 10 days late might not be marked.

Deferred assessment

Note, that in certain circumstances it is possible to obtain Deferred

Assessment. Information on the procedure for applying for either
Deferred Assessment or Special Consideration can be found at:

http://www.murdoch.edu.au/oss/exams/deferred.html

Determination of the final grade

In order to pass this unit, you must normally

• Achieve an overall aggregated score of 50% or higher for all the

combined assessments (continuous assessment and final examination);
and
 • Achieve a satisfactory performance in the supervised component,
which is the final examination. A satisfactory performance is normally
considered to be 50% or higher.

The final grade for the unit will be based on the combined weighted
aggregate score for the assignments and final examination. The final grade
will be reported by a letter grade according to the following percentage
ranges.

System of Letter Grades

HD High Distinction 80-100%

D Distinction 70-79%
C Credit 60-69%
P Pass 50-59%
P Pass after taking supplementary assessment 50%
N Fail after taking supplementary assessment The lesser of 49% and
the original mark
N Fail Below 50%
DNS Fail, the student failed to participate in assessment
components that had a combined weighting of more than
50% of the final mark.

The above grade descriptors can be found in the Assessment Policy 2016.

Academic Integrity
Murdoch University encourages its students and staff to pursue the highest
standards of integrity in all academic activity. Academic integrity involves
behaving ethically and honestly in scholarship and relies on respect for
others’ ideas through proper acknowledgement and referencing of
publications.

Lack of academic integrity, including the examples listed below, can

lead to serious penalties.

Find out more about how academic integrity at:

http://our.murdoch.edu.au/Educational-technologies/Academic-
integrity/

Plagiarism Inappropriate or inadequate acknowledgement of

original work including:

 Material copied word for word without any

acknowledgement of its source

 Material paraphrased without appropriate

acknowledgement of its source

 Images, designs, experimental results, computer

code etc. used or adapted without
acknowledgement of the source.

Ghost writing An assignment written by a third party and

represented by a student as her or his own work.

Collusion Material copied from another student’s assignment

with her or his knowledge.
Purloining Material copied from another student’s assignment
or work without that person’s knowledge.

Adapted from the Murdoch Assessment Policy

http://www.murdoch.edu.au/index/policies/index?Filter=Assessment

IMPORTANT: Read the following links carefully and understand

them.
http://our.murdoch.edu.au/Student-life/Study-successfully/Study-
Skills/Referencing/Academic-integrity/
https://policy.murdoch.edu.au/dotNet/documents/?
docid=2013&public=true