IFQ721 Data Analytics Capstone

Unit Outline: Session 1 2024, QUT Online, Online

Overview

This unit gives you the opportunity to apply and extend knowledge and skills gained in earlier units to a substantial Data Analytics project. Working alongside fellow students, you will undertake an investigation of real-world data for an industry-based client in which you will need to

• develop an understanding of the domain and context of the data as well as why it is worthy of analysis
• understand the available data, methods and resources that you could bring to bear
• prepare the data and formulate useful questions to investigate
• explore and model the data, and interpret your findings
• communicate the knowledge you have gained from your investigation

You will be required to document, present and demonstrate your progress to a professional standard, and you will be able to add the project artefacts to your Data Analytics portfolio. 

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit you will be able to:

1. Integrate knowledge of data analytics to produce a complete project that addresses the needs of an industry client (maps to SALO1 and CLO1)
2. Apply high-performance team practices in an agile environment to manage a complex industry project (maps to SALO2 and CLO2)
3. Apply problem solving and critical thinking skills to effectively respond to developing and fluid requirements in an industry project(maps to SALO3 and CLO3)
4. Demonstrate professional communication and practice with your peers, and with project stakeholders (maps to SALO5 and CLO5)
5. Integrate knowledge of data analytics within a professional portfolio that evidences career development (maps to SALO6 and CLO6)

Content

Learning Approaches

You will be working on an authentic data analytics project so that you can gain experience of many of the activities that are fundamental to professional data analytics practice. The project will act as a vehicle for you to further develop your critical thinking and technical skills. Activities will be guided by close interaction with your project client and the structure provided by the project iterations. You will undertake regular project meetings with peers and teachers. You will receive formative feedback informally at these meetings and formally through each of the assessment tasks. Your assessment for the unit will be based around your weekly engagement with project activities, a mid-way briefing to colleagues, and a report on progress delivered at the end of the unit. You will be required to present your work to a professional audience. 

Feedback on Learning and Assessment

You will gain feedback in this unit by participating in weekly online project discussions with academics and peers. You will also receive written and verbal feedback on your initial review and proposal for Assessment 2 which will directly relate to and inform your final assessment.

Assessment

Overview

You will be assessed on a mix of your demonstrated critical thinking and problem solving skills, conduct of fundamental data analysis activities, application of data analysis methods, contributions to discussions with peers, and the quality and substance of your written and oral communications.

Unit Grading Scheme

S (Satisfactory) / U (Unsatisfactory)

Assessment Tasks

Assessment: Project journal

You will prepare a journal that will showcase your critical thinking and problem-solving skills, and follow along with your journey as you complete your project. The work you do in this assignment links strongly to your other assignments because they are built on the critical thinking and understanding you gain through your studies. 

You will prepare for and contribute to regular project management meetings over the course of the unit. Each week you will be prompted to write in your journal, use these opportunities to stay on top of your entries as it will help you to complete this assignment.

By the end of the unit, you should have a set of weekly updates that will serve as a kind of project diary and capture information that will be useful to your other assessments.

Assessment: Briefing colleagues

This assignment gives you an opportunity to communicate your understanding, explorations, and current plans in the form of a mid-project video briefing presentation to colleagues. This briefing should explain

• what you are working on,
• why it matters and who it matters to, as well as 
• what you have learned so far and 
• what you are thinking about doing next.

This is an assignment for the purposes of an extension.

Assessment: Progress report to colleagues

The reality of data analytics is that we seldom reach a final definitive conclusion; our investigations certainly yield new knowledge but also many new questions. 

That’s why we’ve chosen to describe your final assignment as a progress report, i.e., a concise, meaningful articulation of the situation you have investigated, the approach you took, the findings it yielded, and any other useful insights, methods, ideas, questions or recommendations you could give to someone taking over from you.

In simple terms, in this assignment, you will explain the progress that you have made.

This is an assignment for the purposes of an extension.

Academic Integrity

Students are expected to engage in learning and assessment at QUT with honesty, transparency and fairness. Maintaining academic integrity means upholding these principles and demonstrating valuable professional capabilities based on ethical foundations.

Failure to maintain academic integrity can take many forms. It includes cheating in examinations, plagiarism, self-plagiarism, collusion, and submitting an assessment item completed by another person (e.g. contract cheating). It can also include providing your assessment to another entity, such as to a person or website.

You are encouraged to make use of QUT’s learning support services, resources and tools to assure the academic integrity of your assessment. This includes the use of text matching software that may be available to assist with self-assessing your academic integrity as part of the assessment submission process.

Further details of QUT’s approach to academic integrity are outlined in the Academic integrity policy and the Student Code of Conduct. Breaching QUT’s Academic integrity policy is regarded as student misconduct and can lead to the imposition of penalties ranging from a grade reduction to exclusion from QUT.

Resources

Resource Materials

Prescribed text(s)

Vallor, Shannon. 2018. ‘An Introduction to Data Ethics’. Course Module. Santa Clara, CA: Markkula Center for Applied Ethics. https://www.scu.edu/ethics/focus-areas/technology-ethics/resources/an-introduction-to-data-ethics/

Software

Data analytics computing environment (currently JupyterHub, as provided by the QUT eResearch Infrastructure Team)

Risk Assessment Statement

The main risk is that data provided by industry partners for QUT use only is made public.
This is mitigated by ensuring students agree to data use terms and conditions and understand that breaching them will be treated as academic misconduct.

Course Learning Outcomes

IQ70 Graduate Certificate in Information Technology Practice (Study Area A)

1. Demonstrate advanced, role-specific Information Technology (IT) discipline knowledge
   Relates to: ULO1, Briefing colleagues, Progress report to colleagues
2. Identify and employ appropriate industry relevant methods and approaches to address IT problems
   Relates to: ULO2, Project journal
3. Apply design, problem solving and critical thinking skills to develop appropriate IT solutions
   Relates to: ULO3, Project journal, Briefing colleagues, Progress report to colleagues
4. Engage in professional communication with relevant stakeholders
   Relates to: ULO4, Project journal
5. Demonstrate professional and career-oriented aptitude in the field of Information Technology
   Relates to: ULO5, Briefing colleagues, Progress report to colleagues