MIS 0855: Data Science Fall 2016

Section 006, Instructor: Shana Pote

Study Guide for Exam 1

Here is the study guide for the first midterm exam. Exam is October 7. Exam review is October 3.

Format for review is:

  • Unstructured, for my part. I do not have an agenda for topics to cover. I will field questions as you ask them, but only if you ask them.
  • I won’t answer questions like “what’s going to be on the exam”.
  • Conceptually, the following are subject for valid questions:
    • Anything on the study guide
    • Anything from the readings
    • Anything from the slides and in-class activities
    • Anything from the Assignments
    • Anything from the quizzes and weekly questions
  • When the questions stop or we reach 50 minutes, class will end.
  • On the matter of questions:
    • There are no dumb questions.
    • Don’t self-censor. Ask your question, and leave it to me to determine if it’s one I’m inclined to answer, discuss, or if it’s too close to the “what’s on the exam” slant to respond to.
    • Remember if you have the question, likelihood is someone else does too, and they’ll probably thank you for asking it.
    • And lastly, do come to class with questions in hand.

Suggested study approach:

  • Review the Study Guide first, then:
  • Start with the slides
    • Look at the major concepts
    • Where a slide is associated with a reading, review the reading that covers the major concept
    • Understand how the reading is associated with the slide, and the reading’s key concepts
  • Then look at the quizzes
    • Review the questions and answers to the quizzes
    • Understand where all the answers came from, review those readings
  • Then review the In-Class Exercises
    • If we did it in an exercise, it’s probably important.
    • Focus on topics we emphasized in the Exercises.
  • Then, review your Assignments.
  • Lastly, re-read any readings you didn’t review in the prior study steps.

What will be on the exam, in order of likelihood, are:

  • Things we talked about explicitly in class
  • Slides, and readings directly associated with them
  • Things I quizzed you on
  • Things we worked on in class through the exercises
  • Things you used while completing Assignments
  • Other things from readings that may not have otherwise been emphasized in class discussion or readings

Reading Quiz #5: Complete by October 10, 2016

Some quick instructions:

  • You must complete the quiz by the start of class on October 10, 2016.
  • When you click on the link, you may see a Google sign in screen. Use your AccessNet ID and password to sign in. It will then take you to the quiz.
    If it says you don’t have access, make sure you’re signed out of your regular Gmail (non-TUMail) account!
  • You can only do the quiz once. If you submit multiple times, I’ll only use the first (oldest) one.
  • This is “open book” – you can use the articles to answer the questions – but do not get help from anyone else.

Ready? Take the quiz by clicking this link.

Assignment 2: Analyze a Data Set Using Tableau

Here is the assignment.

Here is the worksheet as a Word document to make it easy to fill in and submit (along with your Tableau file).

And here is the data file you will need to complete the assignment [In-Class Exercise 2.1 – 2015 Car Fuel Econ [Start].xlsx].

When your assignment is complete, you’re going to email both the Word doc (in .docx or .pdf format) AND the Tableau file to me at MIS0855.1ptopenatj1r90sy@u.box.com from your Temple email account. If your upload is successful, you’ll receive a confirmation receipt via email from the Temple OwlBox system. SAVE THIS RECEIPT! It is your proof that your submission was submitted, the name of the document, and the time/date of submission.

If you don’t receive a confirmation email, it likely means your submission was not successful. Try again, and contact me if you’re having recurrent issues.

Your assignment must be submitted by 7:59am, October 3, 2016 to be on time.

Weekly Question #4: Complete by September 28, 2016

Leave your response as a comment on this post by the beginning of class on September 28, 2016. Remember, it only needs to be three or four sentences. For these weekly questions, I’m mainly interested in your opinions, not so much particular “facts” from the class!

Here is the question:

Take a look at the Hoven article from this week (“Stephen Few on Data Visualization: 8 Core Principles”). Which one of the eight principles do you think is most important? Why?

Reading Quiz #4: Complete by September 26, 2016

Some quick instructions:

  • You must complete the quiz by the start of class on September 26, 2016.
  • When you click on the link, you may see a Google sign in screen. Use your AccessNet ID and password to sign in. It will then take you to the quiz.
    If it says you don’t have access, make sure you’re signed out of your regular Gmail (non-TUMail) account!
  • You can only do the quiz once. If you submit multiple times, I’ll only use the first (oldest) one.
  • This is “open book” – you can use the articles to answer the questions – but do not get help from anyone else.

Ready? Take the quiz by clicking this link.

Weekly Question #3: Complete by September 21, 2016

Leave your response as a comment on this post by the beginning of class on September 21, 2016. Remember, it only needs to be three or four sentences. For these weekly questions, I’m mainly interested in your opinions, not so much particular “facts” from the class!

If you sign in using your AccessNet ID and password you won’t have to fill in the name, email and captcha fields when you leave your comment.

Here is the question:

In your opinion, what was the most important takeaway from last week’s discussion on bias and the Signal Problem? Give a recent example of how you’ve used data to make a decision, and a hidden (or not so hidden) bias that was likely present when making your decision. Did this result in a signal problem regarding your analysis and decision-making? Describe how you might have counteracted the bias and Signal Problem for your particular circumstance.

 

Office Hours

Shana Pote (instructor)
By Appointment Only! Email to schedule time between 6-10 pm, M-F, or 9-12 S-S. Office hours will be via Google Hangout, Skype or WebEx
Email shana.pote@temple.edu to set up appointment.

ITA information

Craig Kestecher (ITA)
Office hours/tutoring, by appointment only.
Email: tuf94617@temple.edu