πŸ““ Syllabus

DS105A (2024/25 Autumn Term)

Check this page every week for more information on studying for the course.

Last updated: 19 November 2024, 7pm (to update the titles of W08 & W09 lecture/labs)

πŸ—“οΈ Week 01
30 Sep 2024 -
04 Oct 2024

✍️ Formative

Reserve a couple of hours before the first lecture to work on πŸ“ W01 Formative Exercise!

This ungraded self-paced exercise is the best way to get started with the course. It will give you something to think about in preparation for the first lecture.

πŸ›Ÿ Support

Click here to see how to get help this week

We love hearing from you! Truly! Don’t hesitate to contact us for help.

In this first week, the best ways to get help are:

  • Slack: Post any question you might have about the course or formative exercises in the #help channel. Jon will be checking for messages every now and then throughout the week.

  • πŸ’¬ Office Hours: If you want 1 to 1 in-person support or you want to discuss anything about the course, go to StudentHub and book a 15-minute slot with Jon on Wednesday, 02 October 2024 from 1-4 pm.

  • πŸ“§ E-mail: Not sure if this course is for you? Or you have a valid reason to request a change of class? For these and other administrative queries, write (Kevin), our Teaching & Assessment Support Officer at the DSI.

πŸ§‘β€πŸ« Lecture

Introduction to Data Science Tools

πŸ’» Lab

Data Types in Python

πŸ—“οΈ Week 02
07 Oct 2024 -
11 Oct 2024

✍️ Formative

Reserve a couple of hours from Mon-Wed to work on the πŸ“ W02 Formative Exercise! (the instructions will be released after the W01 lecture)

Actively post questions to Slack or attend support sessions if you get stuck or confused about any of the tasks.

πŸ›Ÿ Support

Click here to see how to get help this week

There is a way to get help every single day of the week. Don’t hesitate to contact us for help. We love hearing from you!

Here are the best ways to get help with your DS105A studies this week:

  • Slack: Feel free to post questions or comments about the course or formative exercises to the #help channel at any time. Jon, Riya and Alex will dedicate a total of 10 hours during the week to answer any questions you might have

  • πŸ†˜ In-person drop-in session. Sara will be at the DSI’s visualisation studio (COL.1.06) On πŸ—“οΈ Tuesday,from 2-5 pm to help you troubleshoot any problems you may have.

    • No need to book, just show up, but if helps us a lot if you confirm your attendance when you receive the calendar invite.

  • πŸ’¬ Office Hours: Do you need clarification on something you saw in the lecture or the lab last week? Or maybe you need help with the formative exercise? Go to StudentHub and book a 15-minute slot with Jon, Riya or Alex.

    • Riya Chhikara: πŸ—“οΈ Monday & Tuesday from 9-10 am
    • Alex Soldatkin: πŸ—“οΈ Tuesday from 10-12pm
    • Dr Jon Cardoso-Silva: πŸ—“οΈ Tuesday from 10-12 pm

  • πŸ“§ E-mail: For any administrative queries, such as class change, or request for extensions, send (Kevin), our Teaching & Assessment Support Officer at the DSI.

πŸ§‘β€πŸ« Lecture

A Python crash course

πŸ’» Lab

Collecting data from APIs (Weather data)

πŸ—“οΈ Week 03
14 Oct 2024 -
18 Oct 2024

✍️ Formative

Reserve a couple of hours from Mon-Wed to work on the πŸ“ W03 Formative Exercise! (the instructions will be released after the W02 lab)

Actively post questions to Slack or attend support sessions if you get stuck or confused about any of the tasks.

πŸ›Ÿ Support

Click here to see how to get help this week

There is a way to get help every single day of the week. Don’t hesitate to contact us for help. We love hearing from you!

Here are the best ways to get help with your DS105A studies this week:

  • Slack: Feel free to post questions or comments about the course or formative exercises to the #help channel at any time. Jon, Riya and Alex will dedicate a total of 10 hours during the week to answer any questions you might have

  • πŸ†˜ In-person drop-in session. Sara will be at the DSI’s visualisation studio (COL.1.06) On πŸ—“οΈ Tuesday,from 2-5 pm to help you troubleshoot any problems you may have.

    • No need to book, just show up, but if helps us a lot if you confirm your attendance when you receive the calendar invite.

  • πŸ’¬ Office Hours: Do you need clarification on something you saw in the lecture or the lab last week? Or maybe you need help with the formative exercise? Go to StudentHub and book a 15-minute slot with Jon, Riya or Alex.

    • Riya Chhikara: πŸ—“οΈ Monday & Tuesday from 9-10 am
    • Dr Jon Cardoso-Silva: πŸ—“οΈ Tuesday from 10 am - 12 pm
    • Alex Soldatkin: πŸ—“οΈ Wednesday from 10 am - 12pm (drop-in) and Wednesday from 12pm - 2pm (office hours)

  • πŸ“§ E-mail: For any administrative queries, such as to request extensions, send (Kevin), our Teaching & Assessment Support Officer at the DSI.

πŸ§‘β€πŸ« Lecture

Loops and functions in Python 1
+ first steps with version control using GitHub

πŸ’» Lab

Turning lists and dictionaries into dataframes
the one where we play the roles of πŸ§‘β€βœˆοΈ Pilot and πŸ™‹ Copilot

πŸ—“οΈ Week 04
21 Oct 2024 -
25 Oct 2024

✍️ Formative

Reserve a couple of hours from Mon-Wed to work on the πŸ“ W04 Formative Exercise!

  • This assignment will help you practice for the big summative assignment due in Week 06. You will get individual feedback on your work.

Actively post questions to Slack or attend support sessions if you get stuck or confused about any of the tasks.

πŸ“£ Big Reveal

Sometime early in the week, we will release the instructions for the πŸ“ W06 Summative (20%).
Deadline: 07 November 2024, at 8 pm

Note 18 Oct 6pm: I meant to release these instructions at the end of Week 03, but the platform we use for the summative assignments, GitHub Classroom, was not working properly. I have contacted GitHub’s support team and I hope to have it up and running by mid-week. I will keep you posted.

πŸ›Ÿ Support

Click here to see how to get help this week

There is a way to get help every single day of the week. Don’t hesitate to contact us for help. We love hearing from you!

Here are the best ways to get help with your DS105A studies this week:

  • Slack: Feel free to post questions or comments about the course or formative exercises to the #help channel at any time. Jon, Riya and Alex will dedicate a total of 10 hours during the week to answer any questions you might have

  • πŸ†˜ In-person drop-in session. Sara will be at the DSI’s visualisation studio (COL.1.06) On πŸ—“οΈ Thursday, from 10 am - 2 pm to help you troubleshoot any problems you may have.

    • No need to book, just show up, but if helps us a lot if you confirm your attendance when you receive the calendar invite.

  • πŸ’¬ Office Hours: Do you need clarification on something you saw in the lecture or the lab last week? Or maybe you need help with the formative exercise? Go to StudentHub and book a 15-minute slot with Jon, Riya or Alex.

    • Riya Chhikara: πŸ—“οΈ Monday & Tuesday from 9-10 am
    • Alex Soldatkin: πŸ—“οΈ Tuesday from 10 am - 12 pm
    • Dr Jon Cardoso-Silva: πŸ—“οΈ Tuesday from 10 am - 12 pm

  • πŸ“§ E-mail: For any administrative queries, such as to request extensions, send (Kevin), our Teaching & Assessment Support Officer at the DSI.

πŸ§‘β€πŸ« Lecture

Exploratory Data Analysis with pandas

πŸ’» Lab

Cleaning and transforming data with pandas

πŸ—“οΈ Week 05
28 Oct 2024 -
01 Nov 2024

πŸ›Ÿ Support

Click here to see how to get help this week

There is a way to get help every single day of the week. Don’t hesitate to contact us for help. We love hearing from you!

Here are the best ways to get help with your DS105A studies this week:

  • Slack: Feel free to post questions or comments about the course or formative exercises to the #help channel at any time. Jon, Riya and Alex will dedicate a total of 10 hours during the week to answer any questions you might have

  • πŸ†˜ In-person drop-in session. Sara will be at the DSI’s visualisation studio (COL.1.06) On πŸ—“οΈ Tuesday,from 2 pm - 5 pm to help you troubleshoot any problems you may have.

    • No need to book, just show up, but if helps us a lot if you confirm your attendance when you receive the calendar invite.

  • πŸ’¬ Office Hours: Do you need clarification on something you saw in the lecture or the lab last week? Or maybe you need help with the formative exercise? Go to StudentHub and book a 15-minute slot with Jon, Riya or Alex.

    • Riya Chhikara: πŸ—“οΈ Monday & Tuesday from 9-10 am
    • Alex Soldatkin: πŸ—“οΈ Wednesday from 10-12pm
    • Dr Jon Cardoso-Silva: πŸ—“οΈ Wednesday from 1-4 pm

  • πŸ“§ E-mail: For any administrative queries, such as to request extensions, send (Kevin), our Teaching & Assessment Support Officer at the DSI.

πŸ§‘β€πŸ« Lecture

Data Visualisation with the Grammar-of-Graphics

πŸ’» Lab

Data Visualisation Practice

πŸ—“οΈ Week 06
04 Nov 2024 -
08 Nov 2024

πŸ›Ÿ Support

Click here to see how to get help this week

We still have our usual support channels open for you this week.

Here are the best ways to get help with your DS105A studies this week:

  • Slack: Feel free to post questions or comments about the course or formative exercises to the #help channel at any time. Jon, Riya and Alex will dedicate a total of 10 hours during the week to answer any questions you might have

  • πŸ’¬ Office Hours: Do you need clarification on something you saw in the lecture or the lab last week? Or maybe you need help with the formative exercise? Go to StudentHub and book a 15-minute slot with Jon, Riya or Alex.

    • Riya Chhikara: πŸ—“οΈ Monday & Tuesday from 9-10 am
    • Alex Soldatkin: πŸ—“οΈ Wednesday from 10-12pm
    • Dr Jon Cardoso-Silva: πŸ—“οΈ Wednesday from 9.30 am - 12.30 pm

  • πŸ“§ E-mail: For any administrative queries, such as to request extensions, send (Kevin), our Teaching & Assessment Support Officer at the DSI.

πŸ†˜ Additional Sessions

There is no lecture or lab this week. Instead, we will hold additional drop-in sessions to help you with your work.

πŸ—“οΈ Mon, 04 Nov 2024, from 2 pm - 4 pm:
- A Python and Pandas recap with Jon
- Zoom (check your calendar invite for the link)

πŸ—“οΈ Tue, 05 Nov 2024, from 10 am - 12 pm:
- πŸ§‘β€πŸ’» Online drop-in session with Alex
- Zoom (check your calendar invite for the link)

πŸ—“οΈ Tue, 05 Nov 2024, from 2 pm - 4 pm:
- πŸ™‹ In-person drop-in session with Sara
- DSI’s visualisation studio (COL.1.06)

πŸ—“οΈ Thu, 07 Nov 2024, from 9.30 am - 12.30 pm:
- πŸ™‹ In-person drop-in session with Jon
- DSI’s visualisation studio (COL.1.06)

πŸ—“οΈ Fri, 08 Nov 2024, from 9 am - 10 am:
- πŸ‘©β€πŸ’» Online drop-in session with Riya
- Zoom (check your calendar invite for the link)

⏲️ Deadline

Submit your πŸ“ W06 Summative (20%) via GitHub until 07 November 2024, 8 pm.

πŸ—“οΈ Week 07
11 Nov 2024 -
15 Nov 2024

πŸ›Ÿ Support

Click here to see how to get help this week

There is a way to get help every single day of the week. Don’t hesitate to contact us for help. We love hearing from you!

Here are the best ways to get help with your DS105A studies this week:

  • Slack: Feel free to post questions or comments about the course or formative exercises to the #help channel at any time. Jon, Riya and Alex will dedicate a total of 10 hours during the week to answer any questions you might have

  • πŸ†˜ ONLINE drop-in session. Sara will be hosting a session via Zoom check your calendar invite for the link on πŸ—“οΈ Tuesday,from 2 pm - 5 pm to help you troubleshoot any problems you may have.

    • No need to book, just show up to the call, but if helps us a lot if you confirm your attendance when you receive the calendar invite.

  • πŸ’¬ Office Hours: Do you need clarification on something you saw in the lecture or the lab last week? Or maybe you need help with the formative exercise? Go to StudentHub and book a 15-minute slot with Jon, Riya or Alex.

    • Riya Chhikara: πŸ—“οΈ Monday & Tuesday from 9-10 am
    • Alex Soldatkin: πŸ—“οΈ Tuesday from 10-12pm
    • Dr Jon Cardoso-Silva: πŸ—“οΈ Wednesday from 1-4 pm

  • πŸ“§ E-mail: For any administrative queries, such as to request extensions, send (Kevin), our Teaching & Assessment Support Officer at the DSI.

πŸ§‘β€πŸ« Lecture

Normalising JSON data + the Group β†’ Apply β†’ Combine strategy

πŸ’» Lab

Practice reshaping dataframes

πŸ“£ Big Reveal

Release of πŸ“ W10 Summative (30%) instructions.
Deadline: 3 December 2024, 8 pm (Week 10)

πŸ—“οΈ Week 08
18 Nov 2024 -
22 Nov 2024

πŸ›Ÿ Support

Click here to see how to get help this week

There is a way to get help every single day of the week. Don’t hesitate to contact us for help. We love hearing from you!

Here are the best ways to get help with your DS105A studies this week:

  • Slack: Feel free to post questions or comments about the course or formative exercises to the #help channel at any time. Jon, Riya and Alex will dedicate a total of 10 hours during the week to answer any questions you might have

  • πŸ†˜ ONLINE drop-in session. Sara will be hosting a session via Zoom check your calendar invite for the link on πŸ—“οΈ Tuesday,from 2 pm - 5 pm to help you troubleshoot any problems you may have.

    • No need to book, just show up to the call, but if helps us a lot if you confirm your attendance when you receive the calendar invite.

  • πŸ’¬ Office Hours: Do you need clarification on something you saw in the lecture or the lab last week? Or maybe you need help with the formative exercise? Go to StudentHub and book a 15-minute slot with Jon, Riya or Alex.

    • Riya Chhikara: πŸ—“οΈ Monday & Tuesday from 9-10 am
    • Alex Soldatkin: πŸ—“οΈ Tuesday from 10-12pm
    • Dr Jon Cardoso-Silva: πŸ—“οΈ Wednesday from 1-4 pm

  • πŸ“§ E-mail: For any administrative queries, such as to request extensions, send (Kevin), our Teaching & Assessment Support Officer at the DSI.

πŸ§‘β€πŸ« Lecture

From APIs to dataframes to databases (SQLite and SQL queries)

πŸ’» Lab

Set up your SQLite database for the ✍️ W10 Summative.

πŸ—“οΈ Week 09
25 Nov 2024 -
29 Nov 2024

πŸ›Ÿ Support

Click here to see how to get help this week

There is a way to get help every single day of the week. Don’t hesitate to contact us for help. We love hearing from you!

Here are the best ways to get help with your DS105A studies this week:

  • Slack: Feel free to post questions or comments about the course or formative exercises to the #help channel at any time. Jon, Riya and Alex will dedicate a total of 10 hours during the week to answer any questions you might have

  • πŸ†˜ In-person drop-in session. Sara will be at the DSI’s visualisation studio (COL.1.06) On πŸ—“οΈ Tuesday,from 2 pm - 5 pm to help you troubleshoot any problems you may have.

    • No need to book, just show up, but if helps us a lot if you confirm your attendance when you receive the calendar invite.

  • πŸ’¬ Office Hours: Do you need clarification on something you saw in the lecture or the lab last week? Or maybe you need help with the formative exercise? Go to StudentHub and book a 15-minute slot with Jon, Riya or Alex.

    • Riya Chhikara: πŸ—“οΈ Monday & Tuesday from 9-10 am
    • Alex Soldatkin: πŸ—“οΈ Tuesday from 10-12pm
    • Dr Jon Cardoso-Silva: πŸ—“οΈ Wednesday from 1-4 pm

  • πŸ“§ E-mail: For any administrative queries, such as to request extensions, send (Kevin), our Teaching & Assessment Support Officer at the DSI.

πŸ†˜ Additional Sessions

TBC

πŸ§‘β€πŸ« Lecture

Designing a Good Database Schema & Best Practices for Data Visualisation

πŸ’» Lab

Revise your dataviz strategy

πŸ—“οΈ Week 10
02 Dec 2024 -
06 Dec 2024

πŸ›Ÿ Support

Click here to see how to get help this week

There is a way to get help every single day of the week. Don’t hesitate to contact us for help. We love hearing from you!

Here are the best ways to get help with your DS105A studies this week:

  • Slack: Feel free to post questions or comments about the course or formative exercises to the #help channel at any time. Jon, Riya and Alex will dedicate a total of 10 hours during the week to answer any questions you might have

  • πŸ†˜ In-person drop-in session. Sara will be at the DSI’s visualisation studio (COL.1.06) On πŸ—“οΈ Tuesday,from 2 pm - 5 pm to help you troubleshoot any problems you may have.

    • No need to book, just show up, but if helps us a lot if you confirm your attendance when you receive the calendar invite.

  • πŸ’¬ Office Hours: Do you need clarification on something you saw in the lecture or the lab last week? Or maybe you need help with the formative exercise? Go to StudentHub and book a 15-minute slot with Jon, Riya or Alex.

    • Riya Chhikara: πŸ—“οΈ Monday & Tuesday from 9-10 am
    • Alex Soldatkin: πŸ—“οΈ Tuesday from 10-12pm
    • Dr Jon Cardoso-Silva: πŸ—“οΈ Wednesday from 1-4 pm

  • πŸ“§ E-mail: For any administrative queries, such as to request extensions, send (Kevin), our Teaching & Assessment Support Officer at the DSI.

⏲️ Deadline

Submit your πŸ“ W10 Summative (30%) via GitHub until 3 December 2024, 8 pm.

πŸ§‘β€πŸ« Lecture

Communicating data science results
(web apps, dashboards, and reports)

πŸ“£ Big Reveal

The instructions on how to form groups and what is expected of you for the final project will be communicated at the lecture.

πŸ’» Lab

πŸ—£οΈ Form the groups!

  • Setting up your project board on GitHub
  • Practice using Git branches and pull requests
  • Start working on your pitch presentation (next week)

πŸ—“οΈ Week 11
09 Dec 2024 -
13 Dec 2024

πŸ›Ÿ Support

Click here to see how to get help this week

There is a way to get help every single day of the week. Don’t hesitate to contact us for help. We love hearing from you!

Here are the best ways to get help with your DS105A studies this week:

  • Slack: Feel free to post questions or comments about the course or formative exercises to the #help channel at any time. Jon, Riya and Alex will dedicate a total of 10 hours during the week to answer any questions you might have

  • πŸ†˜ In-person drop-in session. Sara will be at the DSI’s visualisation studio (COL.1.06) On πŸ—“οΈ Tuesday,from 2 pm - 5 pm to help you troubleshoot any problems you may have.

    • No need to book, just show up, but if helps us a lot if you confirm your attendance when you receive the calendar invite.

  • πŸ’¬ Office Hours: Do you need clarification on something you saw in the lecture or the lab last week? Or maybe you need help with the formative exercise? Go to StudentHub and book a 15-minute slot with Jon, Riya or Alex.

    • Riya Chhikara: πŸ—“οΈ Monday & Tuesday from 9-10 am
    • Alex Soldatkin: πŸ—“οΈ Tuesday from 10-12pm
    • Dr Jon Cardoso-Silva: πŸ—“οΈ Wednesday from 1-4 pm

  • πŸ“§ E-mail: For any administrative queries, such as to request extensions, send (Kevin), our Teaching & Assessment Support Officer at the DSI.

πŸ§‘β€πŸ« Lecture

Project Management on GitHub & Final Project Q&A

πŸ’» Lab

πŸ—£οΈ GROUP PRESENTATIONS (10%)

Footnotes

  1. Update 13 Oct 2024: Many people are struggling to grasp the notion of lists and dictionaries. Because these are essential to a good understanding of the concept of vectorised operations we will learn with the pandas library, I rewrote the W03 Lecture to act as a recap of the Python concepts we’ve been exploring since πŸ’» W01 Lab. β†©οΈŽ