π Syllabus
DS105A (2024/25 Autumn Term)
Check this page every week for more information on studying for the course.
π NOTE:
Ideally, you should also be taking the pre-sessional courses offered by LSE Digital Skills Lab in the first weeks of the Autumn Term:
- Python Pre-sessional workshops
- Or the simpler, self-paced Introduction to Python for Data Science - Dataquest course on Moodle (read the instructions carefully to learn how to access the Dataquest resource).
ποΈ Week 01
30 Sep 2024 -
04 Oct 2024
βοΈ Formative
Reserve a couple of hours before the first lecture to work on π 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.
π Support
Click here to see how to get help this week
We love hearing from you! Truly! Donβt 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.π¬ 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.
π§ 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 , our Teaching & Assessment Support Officer at the DSI.
π§βπ« Lecture
Introduction to Data Science Tools
π» Lab
Data Types in Python
ποΈ Week 02
07 Oct 2024 -
11 Oct 2024
βοΈ Formative
Reserve a couple of hours from Mon-Wed to work on the π 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.
π Support
Click here to see how to get help this week
There is a way to get help any single day of the week. Donβt 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 haveπ In-person drop-in session. Sara will be at the DSIβs visualisation studio (COL.1.06) On ποΈ 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.
π¬ 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: ποΈ Monday & Tuesday from 9-10 am
- Alex Soldatkin: ποΈ Tuesday from 10-12pm
- Dr Jon Cardoso-Silva: ποΈ Wednesday from 1-4 pm
π§ E-mail: For any administrative queries, such as class change, or request for extensions, send , our Teaching & Assessment Support Officer at the DSI.
π§βπ« Lecture
A Python crash course
π» Lab
Collecting data from APIs (Weather data)
ποΈ Week 03
14 Oct 2024 -
18 Oct 2024
βοΈ Formative
Reserve a couple of hours from Mon-Wed to work on the π W03 Formative Exercise! (the instructions will be released after the W02 lecture)
Actively post questions to Slack or attend support sessions if you get stuck or confused about any of the tasks.
π Support
Click here to see how to get help this week
There is a way to get help any single day of the week. Donβt 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 haveπ In-person drop-in session. Sara will be at the DSIβs visualisation studio (COL.1.06) On ποΈ 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.
π¬ 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: ποΈ Monday & Tuesday from 9-10 am
- Alex Soldatkin: ποΈ Tuesday from 10-12pm
- Dr Jon Cardoso-Silva: ποΈ Wednesday from 1-4 pm
π§ E-mail: For any administrative queries, such as to request extensions, send , our Teaching & Assessment Support Officer at the DSI.
π§βπ« Lecture
Version Control and π Exploratory Data Analysis with pandas
π£ Big Reveal
Release of π W06 Summative (20%) instructions.
Deadline: 07 November 2024, at 8 pm
π» Lab
Data Visualisation Practice
ποΈ Week 04
21 Oct 2024 -
25 Oct 2024
βοΈ Formative
Reserve a couple of hours from Mon-Wed to work on the π W04 Formative Exercise! (the instructions will be released after the W03 lecture)
- 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.
π Support
Click here to see how to get help this week
There is a way to get help any single day of the week. Donβt 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 haveπ In-person drop-in session. Sara will be at the DSIβs visualisation studio (COL.1.06) On ποΈ 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.
π¬ 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: ποΈ Monday & Tuesday from 9-10 am
- Alex Soldatkin: ποΈ Tuesday from 10-12pm
- Dr Jon Cardoso-Silva: ποΈ Wednesday from 1-4 pm
π§ E-mail: For any administrative queries, such as to request extensions, send , our Teaching & Assessment Support Officer at the DSI.
π§βπ« Lecture
Master the Group β Apply β Combine strategy with pandas
π» Lab
Master the art of data summarisation
ποΈ Week 05
28 Oct 2024 -
01 Nov 2024
π Support
Click here to see how to get help this week
There is a way to get help any single day of the week. Donβt 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 haveπ In-person drop-in session. Sara will be at the DSIβs visualisation studio (COL.1.06) On ποΈ 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.
π¬ 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: ποΈ Monday & Tuesday from 9-10 am
- Alex Soldatkin: ποΈ Tuesday from 10-12pm
- Dr Jon Cardoso-Silva: ποΈ Wednesday from 1-4 pm
π§ E-mail: For any administrative queries, such as to request extensions, send , our Teaching & Assessment Support Officer at the DSI.
π§βπ« Lecture
Data Origami: Folding, Unfolding, and Reshaping Dataframes
π» Lab
Practice reshaping dataframes
ποΈ Week 06
04 Nov 2024 -
08 Nov 2024
π 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㪠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: ποΈ Monday & Tuesday from 9-10 am
- Alex Soldatkin: ποΈ Tuesday from 10-12pm
- Dr Jon Cardoso-Silva: ποΈ Wednesday from 1-4 pm
π§ E-mail: For any administrative queries, such as to request extensions, send , our Teaching & Assessment Support Officer at the DSI.
π Additional Sessions
There is no lecture or lab this week. Instead, we will hold additional drop-in sessions to help you with your work.
ποΈ Mon, 04 Nov 2024, from 10 am - 12 pm:
- π¨π»βπ» Online drop-in session with Alex
- Check calendar invite for Zoom link
ποΈ Mon, 04 Nov 2024, from 5 pm - 7 pm:
- π©π»βπ» Online drop-in session with Riya
- Check calendar invite for Zoom link
ποΈ Tue, 05 Nov 2024, from 9.30 am - 12.30 pm:
- π In-person drop-in session with Jon
- DSIβs visualisation studio (COL.1.06)
ποΈ Tue, 05 Nov 2024, from 9.30 am - 12.30 pm:
- π In-person drop-in session with Sara
- DSIβs visualisation studio (COL.1.06)
ποΈ Thu, 07 Nov 2024, from 10 am - 12 pm:
- π In-person drop-in session with Riya
- DSIβs visualisation studio (COL.1.06)
Check your calendar for any changes to the schedule.
β²οΈ Deadline
Submit your π W06 Summative (20%) via GitHub until 07 November 2024, 8 pm.
π£ Big Reveal
Release of π W09 Summative (30%) instructions.
Deadline: 27 November 2024, 8 pm (Week 09)
ποΈ Week 07
11 Nov 2024 -
15 Nov 2024
π Support
Click here to see how to get help this week
There is a way to get help any single day of the week. Donβt 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 haveπ In-person drop-in session. Sara will be at the DSIβs visualisation studio (COL.1.06) On ποΈ 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.
π¬ 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: ποΈ Monday & Tuesday from 9-10 am
- Alex Soldatkin: ποΈ Tuesday from 10-12pm
- Dr Jon Cardoso-Silva: ποΈ Wednesday from 1-4 pm
π§ E-mail: For any administrative queries, such as to request extensions, send , our Teaching & Assessment Support Officer at the DSI.
π§βπ« Lecture
How APIs truly work + authentication and rate limits
π» Lab
Collecting data from multiple APIs
(Tentative sources: Reddit + Spotify data)
ποΈ Week 08
18 Nov 2024 -
22 Nov 2024
π Support
Click here to see how to get help this week
There is a way to get help any single day of the week. Donβt 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 haveπ In-person drop-in session. Sara will be at the DSIβs visualisation studio (COL.1.06) On ποΈ 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.
π¬ 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: ποΈ Monday & Tuesday from 9-10 am
- Alex Soldatkin: ποΈ Tuesday from 10-12pm
- Dr Jon Cardoso-Silva: ποΈ Wednesday from 1-4 pm
π§ E-mail: For any administrative queries, such as to request extensions, send , our Teaching & Assessment Support Officer at the DSI.
π§βπ« Lecture
A light introduction to databases and SQL
π» Lab
Combining data from multiple sources
ποΈ Week 09
25 Nov 2024 -
29 Nov 2024
π Support
Click here to see how to get help this week
There is a way to get help any single day of the week. Donβt 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 haveπ In-person drop-in session. Sara will be at the DSIβs visualisation studio (COL.1.06) On ποΈ 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.
π¬ 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: ποΈ Monday & Tuesday from 9-10 am
- Alex Soldatkin: ποΈ Tuesday from 10-12pm
- Dr Jon Cardoso-Silva: ποΈ Wednesday from 1-4 pm
π§ E-mail: For any administrative queries, such as to request extensions, send , our Teaching & Assessment Support Officer at the DSI.
π Additional Sessions
TBC
β²οΈ Deadline
Submit your π W09 Summative (30%) via GitHub until 27 November 2024, 8 pm.
π§βπ« Lecture
String manipulations and regular expressions
π£ Big Reveal
The instructions on how to form groups and what is expected of you for the final project will be released at the lecture.
π» Lab
Using Git as a team
- Setting up your project board on GitHub
- Git branches and pull requests
ποΈ Week 10
02 Dec 2024 -
06 Dec 2024
π Support
Click here to see how to get help this week
There is a way to get help any single day of the week. Donβt 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 haveπ In-person drop-in session. Sara will be at the DSIβs visualisation studio (COL.1.06) On ποΈ 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.
π¬ 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: ποΈ Monday & Tuesday from 9-10 am
- Alex Soldatkin: ποΈ Tuesday from 10-12pm
- Dr Jon Cardoso-Silva: ποΈ Wednesday from 1-4 pm
π§ E-mail: For any administrative queries, such as to request extensions, send , our Teaching & Assessment Support Officer at the DSI.
π§βπ« Lecture
Communicating data science results
(web apps, dashboards, and reports)
π» Lab
π£οΈ GROUP PRESENTATIONS (formative)
ποΈ Week 11
09 Dec 2024 -
13 Dec 2024
π Support
Click here to see how to get help this week
There is a way to get help any single day of the week. Donβt 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 haveπ In-person drop-in session. Sara will be at the DSIβs visualisation studio (COL.1.06) On ποΈ 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.
π¬ 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: ποΈ Monday & Tuesday from 9-10 am
- Alex Soldatkin: ποΈ Tuesday from 10-12pm
- Dr Jon Cardoso-Silva: ποΈ Wednesday from 1-4 pm
π§ E-mail: For any administrative queries, such as to request extensions, send , our Teaching & Assessment Support Officer at the DSI.
π§βπ« Lecture
Project Management on GitHub & Final Project Q&A
π» Lab
π£οΈ GROUP PRESENTATIONS (10%)