USC VITERBI SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING INFORMATICS PROGRAM

INF 250: Introduction to Data Informatics

Syllabus
Monday, Wednesday 1 – 3 PM (4 Units)
Room TBD

Instructor: Dr. Seon Ho Kim Teaching Assistant: TBD

Email: [email protected] Email: TBA
Office: PHE304 Office: TBA
Phone: 213.740.2483 Phone: TBA

Instructor’s Office Hours:

Wednesday 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. in PHE304. Other hours by appointment only. Students are
advised to make appointments with the professor ahead of time in any event and be specific with
the subject matter to be discussed. Students should also be prepared for their appointment by
bringing all applicable materials and information.

Course Description:

This is an overview course to give undergraduate students a broad understanding of Informatics

topics, i.e., basic concepts and applications of Informatics. Topics include data representation and
modeling, the role of the data scientist, the data lifecycle, high level introduction to machine
learning, analyzing and exploring big data with real world use cases. This class will be primarily
individual and/or team study, with assigned readings, homework assignments, midterm exams,
and a final.

Catalogue Description:
Fundamentals of data informatics: representation of data and knowledge, role of a data scientist,
data storage/processing/analytics, machine learning, big data, and data visualization.

Corequisites:
ITP 115 Programming in Python

Recommended Preparation:
This is an introductory Data Informatics course for undergraduate students with limited technical
backgrounds in computing. ITP 115 is listed as a corequisite so that students have some basic
programming skills in Python. A basic understanding of engineering and/or technology is
recommended.

Learning Objectives:

Learning objectives for students are:

1. Understanding the methods to represent data and knowledge in computing.

2. Understanding the methods to store, index, and retrieve data on computers.
3. Understanding data lifecycle, the role of the data scientists, and data modeling.
4. Basic understanding of machine learning algorithms.
5. Basic understanding of data-centric decision making and problem solving on computers.
6. Introduction to visualization of large scale datasets.
Methods of Teaching:

The primary teaching methods will be lectures, discussion, and case studies. Basic concepts and
principles will be lectured and several real world case studies will be introduced for discussion.
Some basic mathematical and computational analysis using R will be introduced and practiced in
the class.

There will be two mid-term exams and a comprehensive final exam. Students will be required to
complete six homework assignments which should be done individually. There will be no
laboratory assignments, and no special computing facility, hardware or software will be necessary
for this course.

Class Communication:

Blackboard at USC will be used for class communication.

Grading Schema:

Final: 30%
Mid-Terms: 25%
Homework Assignments: 40%
Participation: 5%
_____________________
Total 100%

Grades will range from A through F. The following is the breakdown for grading:

94-100 =A
90-93 =A-
87-89 =B+
84-86 =B
80-83 =B-
77-79 = C+
74 - 76 = C
70 - 73 = C-
67 - 69 = D+
64 - 66 = D
60 - 63 = D-
Below 60 is an F

Books and Readings:

Books (some selected chapters):

J. Stanton, An Introduction to Data Science, Syracuse University, 2012.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/introduction-to-data-science/id529088127?mt=13

C. O’Neil, R. Schutt, Doing Data Science: Straight Talk from the Frontline, O’Reilly Media,
Oct. 2013. http://shop.oreilly.com/product/0636920028529.do?sortby=publicationDate
Assigned Reading List: can be added later

1. Instructor’s Lecture Notes

2. D. P. Groth and J. K. MacKie-Mason, "Why an Informatics Degree?," Communications
of the ACM, vol. 53, pp. 26-28, February 2010.
3. USGS Data Management Data Lifecycle Overview
http://www.usgs.gov/datamanagement/why-dm/lifecycleoverview.php
4. T. H. Davenport and D. Patil, "Data scientist: the sexiest job of the 21st century,"
Harvard business review, vol. 90, pp. 70-77, 2012.
5. P. Fox and J. Hendler, "Changing the equation on scientific data visualization,"
Science(Washington), vol. 331, pp. 705-708, 2011.
6. D. A. Keim, "Information visualization and visual data mining," Visualization and
Computer Graphics, IEEE Transactions on, vol. 8, pp. 1-8, 2002.
7. J. Dean and S. Ghemawat, "MapReduce: simplified data processing on large clusters,"
Communications of the ACM, vol. 51, pp. 107-113, 2008.
8. Challenges and Opportunities with Big Data,
http://www.cra.org/ccc/files/docs/init/bigdatawhitepaper.pdf

Course Schedule

Week Topic Readings Deliverables

1 Introduction to Data Informatics 1 Lecture Note, O’Neil Ch 1,
Reading 2, 4
2 Introduction to Data Informatics 2 Lecture Note, Reading 3

3 Data and Knowledge Lecture Note HW1

Representation
Stanton Ch 1, 2, 4
4 Overview of R Stanton Ch 3

5 Data Wrangling and Formats Lecture Note HW2

6 Data Storage and Database Lecture Note Midterm 1

Stanton Ch 5
7 Statistical Inference and Data O’Neil Ch 2 HW3
Science Process Stanton Ch 6, 7
8 Introduction to Machine Learning Lecture Note
O’Neil Ch 3
9 Extracting Meaning from Data O’Neil Ch 7 HW4

10 Use Case Study 1 TBD Midterm 2

11 Introduction to Big Data Lecture Note, Reading 8

 12 Big Data Engineering and Parallel Lecture Note HW5
Processing
13 Hadoop and MapReduce O’Neil Ch 14, Reading 7

14 Introduction to Data Visualization Reading 5, 6 HW6

15 Use Case Study 2 TBD

Students with Disabilities:

Any student requesting academic accommodations based on a disability is required to register

with Disability Services and Programs (DSP) each semester. A letter of verification for approved
accommodations can be obtained from DSP. Please be sure the letter is delivered to me as early in
the semester as possible. Your letter must be specific as to the nature of any accommodations
granted. DSP is located in STU 301 and is open 8:30 am to 5:30 pm, Monday through Friday.
The telephone number for DSP is (213) 740-0776.

Statement on Academic Conduct and Support Systems

Academic Conduct

Plagiarism – presenting someone else’s ideas as your own, either verbatim or recast in your own
words – is a serious academic offense with serious consequences. Please familiarize yourself with
the discussion of plagiarism in SCampus in Section 11, Behavior Violating University
Standardshttps://scampus.usc.edu/1100-behavior- violating-university-standards-and-appropriate-
sanctions/. Other forms of academic dishonesty are equally unacceptable. See additional
information in SCampus and university policies on scientific misconduct,
http://policy.usc.edu/scientific-misconduct/.

Discrimination, sexual assault, and harassment are not tolerated by the university. You are
encouraged to report any incidents to the Office of Equity and Diversity http://equity.usc.edu/ or
to the Department of Public Safety http://capsnet.usc.edu/department/department-public-
safety/online-forms/contact-us. This is important for the safety of the whole USC community.
Another member of the university community – such as a friend, classmate, advisor, or faculty
member – can help initiate the report, or can initiate the report on behalf of another person. The
Center for Women and Men http://www.usc.edu/student-affairs/cwm/ provides 24/7 confidential
support, and the sexual assault resource center webpage http://sarc.usc.edu/ describes reporting
options and other resources.

Support Systems

A number of USC’s schools provide support for students who need help with scholarly writing.
Check with your advisor or program staff to find out more. Students whose primary language is
not English should check with the American Language Institute http://dornsife.usc.edu/ali, which
sponsors courses and workshops specifically for international graduate students. The Office of
Disability Services and Programs
http://sait.usc.edu/academicsupport/centerprograms/dsp/home_index.htmlprovides certification
for students with disabilities and helps arrange the relevant accommodations. If an officially
declared emergency makes travel to campus infeasible, USC Emergency Information
http://emergency.usc.edu/will provide safety and other updates, including ways in which
instruction will be continued by means of blackboard, teleconferencing, and other technology.

Return of Course Assignments:

Returned paperwork, unclaimed by a student, will be discarded after a year and hence, will not be
available should a grade appeal be pursued following receipt of his/her grade.

Emergency Preparedness/Course Continuity in a Crisis:

In case of a declared emergency if travel to campus is not feasible, USC executive leadership will
announce an electronic way for instructors to teach students in their residence halls or homes
using a combination of Blackboard, teleconferencing, and other technologies.