Faculty of Science, Engineering and Built Environment

SIT103 Database Fundamentals

Deakin University Unit Guide

Trimester 1, 2024
CONTENTS

Welcome ...................................................................................................................................................................... 2
Who is the unit team? .................................................................................................................................................. 2
Unit chair: leads the teaching team and is responsible for overall delivery of this unit .............................................. 2
Unit chair details .......................................................................................................................................................... 2
Other members of the team and how to contact them .............................................................................................. 2
Administrative queries ................................................................................................................................................. 2
About this unit ............................................................................................................................................................. 3
Unit development in response to student feedback ................................................................................................... 3
Your Unit Learning Outcomes ...................................................................................................................................... 3
Assessing your achievement of the unit learning outcomes ....................................................................................... 3
Hurdle requirements .................................................................................................................................................... 3
- Summative assessment task 1 ................................................................................................................................... 5
Your learning experiences in this Unit - and your expected commitment .................................................................. 6
Educator-facilitated (scheduled) learning activities - on-campus unit enrolment ....................................................... 6
Educator-facilitated (scheduled) learning activities - online unit enrolment .............................................................. 6
Note ............................................................................................................................................................................. 6
Unit learning resources ................................................................................................................................................ 7
Essential learning resources ......................................................................................................................................... 7
Recommended learning resources .............................................................................................................................. 7
Where to access unit resources ................................................................................................................................... 7
Key dates for this study period .................................................................................................................................... 7
Unit weekly activities ................................................................................................................................................... 8

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 Deakin University, Faculty of Science, Engineering and Built Environment
SIT103 Database Fundamentals - Trimester 1, 2024

Welcome

This unit covers the fundamentals of designing, implementing, and managing relational database systems in industry-
standard IT applications. It introduces data modelling, with a specific focus on entity-relationship (ER) modelling. Students
will learn how to construct ER diagrams, ensuring that the model's semantics match those of the real-world object it
represents. It also teaches how to construct, maintain, and retrieve information relational databases using SQL. Through real-
world business case scenarios and project-based learning, students will gain the skills required to design, implement, and
manage databases.
This Unit Guide provides you with the key information about this unit. Please read it carefully and refer to it frequently
throughout the study period. Your unit site also provides information about your rights and responsibilities. We will assume
you have read this before the unit commences, and we expect you to refer to it throughout the study period.
To be successful in this unit, you must:

read all materials in preparation for your learning activities and follow up each with further study and research on the
topic
start your assessment tasks well ahead of the due date
read or listen to all feedback carefully and use it in your future work
attend and engage in all educator facilitated (scheduled) learning activities and other learning experiences as part of
the unit design

Who is the unit team?

Unit chair: leads the teaching team and is responsible for overall delivery of this unit

Jihong Park
Unit chair details

Campus: Geelong Waurn Ponds Campus

75 Pigdons Road
WAURN PONDS VIC 3216
Email: [email protected]
Phone: +61 3 522 73809

Other members of the team and how to contact them

Burwood and Geelong Campus Co-ordinator:

Name: Muneeb Ul Hassan, Lecturer
Email: [email protected]
Phone: +61 3 924 45477

A number of tutors are also involved in this unit. They will be introduced during the first lecture and their contact information
will be made available on the Unit site.

Administrative queries

check-out the 'SEBE Student Hub' section on your unit site

contact your Unit Chair or Campus Leader
drop in or contact Student Central to speak with a Student Adviser

For additional support information, please see the Rights and Responsibilities section under 'Content' in your unit site.

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SIT103 Database Fundamentals - Trimester 1, 2024

About this unit

Unit development in response to student feedback

Every trimester, we ask students to tell us, through eVALUate, what helped and hindered their learning in each Unit. You are
strongly encouraged to provide constructive feedback for this unit when eVALUate opens (you will be emailed a link).
In previous versions of this unit, students have told us that these aspects of the Unit have helped them to achieve the
learning outcomes:

Engaging and hands-on lectures.

Well organised learning materials and Unit site.
Availability and support from teaching staff.
Easy to follow and useful practical exercises.

The following aspects of the unit have been introduced, enhanced or retained in response to feedback from students who
have undertaken this unit in previous trimesters:

More case studies and SQL practice exercises will be provided.

Lecture recording quality will be reviewed.

If you have any concerns about the unit during the trimester, please contact the unit teaching team - preferably early in the
trimester - so we can discuss your concerns, and make adjustments, if appropriate.
Your Unit Learning Outcomes

Each unit in your course is a building block towards Deakin's Graduate Learning Outcomes - not all units develop and assess
every Graduate Learning Outcome (GLO).
These are the Learning Outcomes (ULO) for this unit. At the Deakin Graduate Learning
ULO
completion of this unit, successful students can: Outcomes
ULO1 Interpret and explain fundamental concepts of data, information, GLO1: Discipline-specific
and knowledge and demonstrate an understanding of differences knowledge and capabilities
between traditional file systems and databases.
ULO2 Analyse real-world problems to identify data requirements and GLO1: Discipline-specific
apply data modelling concepts to design and develop Entity knowledge and capabilities
Relationship Diagrams for efficient data representation and GLO4: Critical thinking
storage. GLO5: Problem solving
ULO3 Design, implement, evaluate and maintain relational database GLO1: Discipline-specific
systems using SQL and Database Management Systems and knowledge and capabilities
explain the purpose of various SQL commands and operations. GLO3: Digital Literacy
GLO4: Critical thinking
ULO4 Analyse and critique achievements of learning outcomes and GLO4: Critical thinking
justify meeting specified outcomes through providing relevant GLO6: Self-management
evidence and evaluating the quality of that evidence against given
criteria.

Assessing your achievement of the unit learning outcomes

Hurdle requirements

To be eligible to obtain a pass in this unit, students must meet certain milestones as part of the portfolio.

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Summary of the hurdle requirement/s Rationale

1. Pass tasks The pass tasks in this unit provides students the opportunity
to develop and demonstrate the achievement of Unit
Students need to complete the units pass tasks to pass the Learning Outcomes at the minimum expected standards.
unit. These tasks are included as hurdle requirements so that
students are able to provide evidence of achievement of
The portfolio requires students to work through a series of these ULOs through their portfolio. The portfolio artefact
Tasks to produce a portfolio of evidence showing that they submit is used to measure their performance
achievement of the unit learning outcomes. To achieve a against the minimum standards as well as their ability to
passing grade, students must demonstrate adequate justify the outcomes that they have achieved through self-
performance in the completion of the unit’s pass tasks, assessment and reflection.
which will show the required minimum standard.

Credit, Distinction, and High Distinction tasks are used to

determine higher grades, corresponding to achievement of
the unit learning outcomes to a higher level.
2. Task Discussion Task discussions help students to demonstrate achievement
Students are required to discuss their understanding of of their unit learning outcomes, while also helping to
concepts, and demonstrate achievement of unit learning authenticate student learning and improve academic
outcomes, with the teaching team. integrity in the unit. The student-staff interaction during
discussions will allow the teaching team to make judgements
To receive a passing grade, students must clearly about student learning and progress in select tasks that are
communicate appropriate understanding of the associated representative of high-order thinking and learning. Feedback
concepts and achievement of the associated unit learning resulting from this will help aid student learning and provide
outcomes in these task discussions. As part of this process, them with additional opportunities to demonstrate
the teaching team may require students to answer follow up achievement of unit learning outcomes.
questions for clarifications, redo the task, and/or repeat the
task discussion to satisfy this hurdle requirement.

All task discussions need to occur within the teaching period.

Task discussions must be conducted face-to-face (for
campus students) or via online discussions through MS
Teams/ Zoom Meeting or another mechanism as determined
by the Unit Chair (for online students only). Please ensure
that you are enrolled in the correct mode of study.
It is strongly recommended that tasks are submitted well
ahead of the respective deadlines, because the completion
of tasks involves submitting work for assessment,
responding to feedback, and discussion of the tasks with the
teaching staff. In many cases, your solutions will need to be
corrected and resubmitted, potentially more than once, as
part of this process.

Students are required to respond to feedback via OnTrack

comments, in a timely manner, and answer questions posed
by the teaching team.

For some tasks the teaching team may require an audio or

video recording to be used to demonstrate understanding of
the task and its associated concepts. In these cases, video
recording must clearly show the student talking through the
concepts and responding to the questions posed by the
teaching team.

Summative assessment (tasks that will be graded or marked)

NOTE: It is your responsibility to keep a backup copy of every assignment and the materials used to develop/complete it

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where possible (e.g. written/digital reports, essays, videos, images). In the unusual event that one of your submissions
becomes corrupted, is incorrectly submitted or otherwise lost, you may be asked to submit the backup copy. Any work you
submit may be checked by electronic or other means for the purposes of detecting breaches of academic integrity such as
collusion, plagiarism and contract cheating. You must understand your responsibility to act with honesty and integrity in your
studies as Deakin takes all breaches very seriously. Make sure you read Your rights and responsibilities as a student in this
unit to find out more about academic integrity.

Deakin has a universal assessment submission time of 8pm AEDT/AEST. A late penalty will apply to assessments submitted
after 11.59pm AEDT/AEST.
- Summative assessment task 1

Learning Portfolio
Brief description of Assessment in this unit is designed to encourage and reward students for demonstrating
assessment task achievement of the unit learning outcomes; with higher grades representing better
achievement of these outcomes.

The unit will use OnTrack to support the task-oriented assessment approach, with frequent
formative feedback culminating in a portfolio for grading at the end of the teaching period.

Tasks are designed to help students develop and demonstrate achievement of the unit
learning outcomes. Tasks will consist of the following kinds of assessment activities:
• Research
• Design databases
• Implement databases
• Interact and manage databases
• Data analysis and visualisation
• Presentations
Detail of student output In completing the unit tasks students will produce a range of artefacts that will be
combined into their portfolio. This will include:
• Small research reports
• Database design documents
• Entity Relationship Diagrams (ERDs)
• SQL commands and scripts
• Screenshots of successful execution of SQLs in a DBMS
• Proof of completion of online quizzes available via the Unit site
• Simple data analysis and visualisation using tools like Excel
• Presentations slides
• Links to oral and/or video presentations
• Learning summary report

Each student will receive formative feedback on these tasks (except online quizzes) and
will be encouraged to incorporate the feedback received to ensure the work is of the
expected standard when it is finally assessed to determine the unit grade in the portfolio.
Grading and weighting 100% - marked and graded
(% total mark for unit)
Each task in the unit is associated with a grade: either Pass, Credit, Distinction, or High
Distinction. Each grade will be awarded based on completion of the tasks associated with
that grade, and the lower grades.

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This task assesses your The portfolio must demonstrate that you have achieved all unit learning outcomes by
achievement of these Unit proving evidence and self-reflection against each outcome.
Learning Outcome(s)
ULO1: through answering questions and reporting on database concepts.
ULO2: through analysing provided real-world problems and proposing database solutions.
ULO3: by writing SQL commands to implement and change database designs, and work
with data within the database.
ULO4: by reflecting on performance in the portfolio, evaluating evidence included, and
demonstrating achievement of the unit learning outcomes.
This task assesses your GLO1: by introducing and exploring concepts associated with data management and
achievement of these database systems.
Graduate Learning GLO3: through use of database management systems.
Outcome(s) GLO4: by analysing data requirements and identifying relevant information.
GLO5: by designing and developing data management solutions to real-world problems.
GLO6: through reflections and self-assessment throughout the portfolio development
process.
How and when you will Students will be required to work on and submit tasks for formative feedback each week.
receive feedback on your The teaching team will then review your progress and provide you with individual feedback
work to assist you in completing the tasks and achieving your target grade for the unit.
When and how to submit At the end of the trimester, you will use OnTrack to combine together the artefacts you
your work have created and a learning summary report into a single portfolio for assessment by 8pm
(AEST) Monday 27 May 2024 - Week 12 (study period).

Your learning experiences in this Unit - and your expected commitment

Educator-facilitated (scheduled) learning activities - on-campus unit enrolment

1 x 2 hour online lecture per week, 1 x 2 hour practical experience (workshop) per week, weekly meetings.
Educator-facilitated (scheduled) learning activities - online unit enrolment

Online independent and collaborative learning including 1 x 2 hour online lecture per week (recordings provided), 1 x 2 hour
online practical experience (workshop) per week, weekly meetings.
Students will on average spend 150 hours over the trimester undertaking learning and assessment activities in this unit. For
campus students this includes lecture time (online), designated activities in the workshop sessions, assessment tasks,
readings and study time. For online students the time should be divided between online learning activities, discussion boards,
assessment tasks, readings and study time.

The Unit site is the focal point for learning in this unit, so you will need to visit the site regularly to get the latest resources
and information for this unit. All resources for this unit are available here, including lecture slides, Panopto Video, practical
materials, online quizzes and other related materials. It is vital that you pay particular attention to all staff online
announcements via the "Announcements" tool or "Discussions" tool. "Discussions" is the main online discussion forum.
Although it is primarily a place for SIT103 discussion among your peers, the coordinators will drop in from time to time to
answer queries and put forward discussion questions to stimulate further learning.

Assignments tasks are released via OnTrack and students are required to submit their tasks for feedback via OnTrack as well.
The final portfolio for grading is also submitted via OnTrack.
Note

At Deakin, courses are delivered within a learning environment that provides all students with equitable and consistent
access to facilities, infrastructure, resources and support to assist student progress and achievement of learning outcomes.

We have introduced new terms to reflect learning activities to enhance your learning experience, aligning with our innovative
DeakinDesign learning principles and practices. The new terms better reflect how teaching teams will guide you through your
learning journey and the types of learning experiences you will have.

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‘Lectures’ are the activities where teaching staff engage you through presentations with student participation.

In ’seminars’, an educator will guide you in a smaller group of students through highly interactive discussions and activities.

Your units may also include ‘practical experiences’ such as ‘laboratory‘, ‘workshops‘, ‘clinical skills‘ and more. These hands-
on activities typically take place in specialised facilities with industry tools, equipment or technology to allow you to apply
your knowledge practically.

Some other terms

If you see a ‘meeting‘ in your timetable, this is an optional drop-in session.
‘Assessments‘ or ‘team-based learning‘ indicate an in-class evaluation of your skills or knowledge. A ‘pre-assessment
practice‘ could be scheduled to prepare you for these assessments.

Find out more

Take a look at the Learning activities webpage for a full list of the terminology changes and reasons they were changed.
Unit learning resources

Your unit learning resources are available in your unit site.

Prescribed text(s): Coronel and Morris, 2022, Database Systems Design Implementation Management, 14th Ed, Cengage
Learning.
The texts and reading list for the unit can be found on the University Library via the link below: SIT103 Note: Select the
relevant trimester reading list. Please note that a future teaching period's reading list may not be available until a month
prior to the start of that teaching period so you may wish to use the relevant trimester's prior year reading list as a guide
only.
Essential learning resources

The above prescribed text is essential to your learning in this unit. You will be directed to read specific chapters on a week-
by-week basis. The techniques to be used in assignments and most multiple choice questions of the quizzes are based on
readings from this book.
Recommended learning resources

The following are recommended readings and are available in the Library:

Coronel, C., Morris, S. (2018): Database Systems: Design, Implementation and Management, 13th or 12th (2017)
edition. Cengage Learning
Silberschatz, A. et al (2011)): Database System Concepts, 6th edition. McGraw-Hill.
Connolly, T. and Begg, C. (2015): Database Systems: A Practical Approach to Design, Implementation, and
Management, Global edition. Pearson Education.
A number of texts on database design and development are available in Deakin library
(https://www.deakin.edu.au/library). Some are available via e-books.

Where to access unit resources

Textbooks can be sourced from various outlets including direct from the publisher, online bookshops, or retailers.
Key dates for this study period

Trimester 1 teaching period begins Monday 4 March 2024

Census date Wednesday 3 April 2024
Easter vacation/intra-trimester break Friday 29 March - Sunday 7 April 2024
Trimester 1 teaching period ends Friday 24 May 2024
Study period (end-of-unit assessment/examination preparation period) Monday 27 May - Friday 31 May 2024
End-of-unit assessment and examination period Monday 3 June - Friday 14 June 2024

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 Deakin University, Faculty of Science, Engineering and Built Environment
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Inter-trimester break (the period between trimesters) Monday 17 June - Friday 5 July 2024
Unit results released Thursday 4 July 2024 (10.30 am)

Unit weekly activities

Week Commencing Topic Assessment activity

1 4 March 2024 Unit Overview and Introduction to Database
2# 11 March Database Design and Relational Model
3 18 March Entity Relationship Diagram (ERD)
4^ 25 March Normalisation
5 8 April SQL – Introduction and Selection
6 15 April SQL – Relational Algebra and Joins
7* 22 April SQL – Data Definition and other Data Manipulation
Commands
8 29 April Advanced SQL (PL/SQL)
9 6 May Business Intelligence
10 13 May Guest Lecture
11 20 May Database Security and Unit Review
12 (Study 27 May Learning Portfolio due
period)
# Victorian Labour Day, Monday 11 March 2024 - University closed
^ Easter vacation/Intra-trimester break: Friday 29 March - Sunday 7 April 2024 (between weeks 4 and 5)
* ANZAC Day, Thursday 25 April 2024 - University closed

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