Notice
As part of Phase 3 of our return to campus plan, most units will now run tutorials, seminars and other small group learning activities on campus for the second half-year, while keeping an online version available for those students unable to return or those who choose to continue their studies online.
To check the availability of face to face activities for your unit, please go to timetable viewer. To check detailed information on unit assessments visit your unit's iLearn space or consult your unit convenor.
Unit convenor and teaching staff |
Unit convenor and teaching staff
Convenor and Lecturer
Charanya Ramakrishnan
Contact via Email
4 Research Park Drive, Becton Dickson Building Rm 375
See HELP101 schedule/by appointment
Lecturer
Jian Yang
Contact via Email
4 Research Park Drive, Becton Dickson Building Rm 207
See HELP101 schedule/by appointment
Lecturer and Tutor
Hedieh Ranjbartabar
Contact via Email
See HELP101 schedule/by appointment
Tutor
Ava Assadi Abolvardi
Contact via Email
See HELP101 schedule/by appointment
Tutor
Bayzid Hossain
Contact via Email
See HELP101 schedule/by appointment
Tutor
Frances Louise
Contact via Email
See HELP101 schedule/by appointment
Tutor
Hijab Alavi
Contact via Email
See HELP101 schedule/by appointment
Tutor
Kristi Ovsthus
Contact via Email
See HELP101 schedule/by appointment
Tutor
Mahdieh Rezaeian
Contact via Email
See HELP101 schedule/by appointment
Tutor
Natalie Batshon
Contact via Email
See HELP101 schedule/by appointment
Tutor
Sarah Ali Siddiqui
Contact via Email
See HELP101 schedule/by appointment
Tutor
Zawar Hussain
Contact via Email
See HELP101 schedule/by appointment
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Credit points |
Credit points
10
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Prerequisites |
Prerequisites
|
Corequisites |
Corequisites
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Co-badged status |
Co-badged status
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Unit description |
Unit description
This unit introduces students to the principles and concepts of data storage, modelling and management with an emphasis on the role of data and information in organisations. The unit will cover conceptual modelling techniques, converting conceptual data models into relational data models and verifying its structural characteristics with normalisation techniques, and implementing and utilising a relational database using a database-management system. Fundamental data modelling techniques such as ER Modelling and query languages such as Structured Query Language (SQL) will be used. Concepts relating to data warehousing, governance, administration, security and privacy, ethical and green approaches to the collection, backup, use and storage of data and the construction of systems are also discussed. Overall, this unit concentrates upon building a firm foundation in information representation, organisation and storage with particular emphasis upon the application of database systems. |
Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates
On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
A more detailed description of each task is given below.
Workshops are combined practicals and tutorials. Each week, you will receive a maximum of 0.5 marks for active participation in the class activities by attempting the online quiz for the corresponding week. Failure to attend the workshops will mean the marks for online quizzes will be made zero. The attendance in the workshops alone does not count towards any mark. There are 13 weeks of workshops, however, the total participation mark is limited to 5 throughout the semester.
This quiz will be an individual assessment; You will be attempting an online quiz that will be conducted in week 3 in the workshop you've enrolled. You will be answering questions from concepts covered in weeks 1 and 2. This quiz aims to determine students' individual strengths, weaknesses, knowledge and skills to develop a baseline of what students know about the topic. You will have to attend the workshop you're enrolled in to attempt the quiz. No reattempts will be granted.
There are 2 assignments. Both assignments are individual assessments
You are encouraged to:
If you cannot submit on time because of illness or other circumstances, please contact the convenor before the due date.
No extensions will be granted unless there is a special consideration approved. Late assignments will be accepted up to 72 hours after the submission deadline. There will be a deduction of 10%* of the total available marks made from the total awarded mark for each 24 hour period or part thereof that the submission is late (for example, 25 hours late in submission – 20% penalty). This penalty does not apply for cases in which an application for disruption to studies is made and approved.
Assignment submission in this unit is NOT a hurdle requirement. However, if you do not make a reasonable attempt at all the assignments, you are unlikely to have sufficient knowledge to pass the exam or sufficient total marks to be able to pass the unit.
For this unit, a final examination will test your learning and knowledge of learning outcomes #1, #2, #3 and #4. The final examination accounts for 50% of the final mark. A take-home exam will test your knowledge of the concepts and ability to apply the learning material from weeks 1-12. If you receive special consideration for the final exam, a supplementary exam will be scheduled in December 2020. By making a special consideration application for the final exam you are declaring yourself available for a resit during the supplementary examination period and will not be eligible for a second special consideration approval based on pre-existing commitments. Please ensure you are familiar with the policy prior to submitting an application. Approved applicants will receive an individual notification one week prior to the exam with the exact date and time of their supplementary examination.
Regarding the examination process, note that
Name | Weighting | Hurdle | Due |
---|---|---|---|
Weekly Quiz | 5% | No | All Weeks (Weeks 1-13) |
Diagnostic Quiz | 5% | No | Varies: During Week-3 Workshop |
Assignment One | 20% | No | Week 7, 11/09/2020 |
Assignment Two | 20% | No | Week12 30/10/2020 |
Final Exam | 50% | No | See Exam Timetable |
Assessment Type 1: Participatory task
Indicative Time on Task 2: 2 hours
Due: All Weeks (Weeks 1-13)
Weighting: 5%
Online quizzes will be made available to students every week. The best 10 out of 13 marks will be taken into consideration. Please note, since these quizzes are replacing in-class participation, quiz marks will only be counted, if you attend the registered workshop.
Assessment Type 1: Quiz/Test
Indicative Time on Task 2: 2 hours
Due: Varies: During Week-3 Workshop
Weighting: 5%
This quiz will be an individual assessment; You will be attempting an online quiz that will be conducted in Week 3 in the workshop you've enrolled. You will be answering questions covering concepts covered in Weeks 1 and 2. This quiz aims to determine students' individual strengths, weaknesses, knowledge and skills to develop a baseline of what students know about the topic
Assessment Type 1: Design Task
Indicative Time on Task 2: 27 hours
Due: Week 7, 11/09/2020
Weighting: 20%
This assignment is an individual assignment. This assignment will involve both a top-down and a bottom-up approach in database modelling. You will be assessed based on the development of an EER diagram, logical transformation, and normalisation of tables for a given problem description.
Assessment Type 1: Programming Task
Indicative Time on Task 2: 27 hours
Due: Week12 30/10/2020
Weighting: 20%
This assignment is an individual assignment. This assignment will involve designing and executing database queries to demonstrate the knowledge of SQL. You will be assessed based on the successful execution of SQL queries for a given problem description
Assessment Type 1: Examination
Indicative Time on Task 2: 20 hours
Due: See Exam Timetable
Weighting: 50%
A take-home exam will test your knowledge of the concepts and ability to apply the learning material from weeks 1-12.
1 If you need help with your assignment, please contact:
2 Indicative time-on-task is an estimate of the time required for completion of the assessment task and is subject to individual variation
COMP1350 is taught via lectures and workshops. The feedback that you receive also plays an important role in your learning. Make sure you read the feedback you are given, attend lectures which provide assignment feedback and compare your solution with sample solutions provided.
Lectures are used to introduce new material, provide motivation and context for your study, guide you in what is important to learn and explain more difficult concepts.
Workshops are small group classes which give you the opportunity to interact with your peers and with a tutor who has a sound knowledge of the subject. This also gives you a chance to practice your technology skills.
You have many opportunities to seek and to receive feedback. During live lectures/consultation, you are encouraged to ask the lecturer questions to clarify anything you might not be sure of. You may also arrange to meet with your tutor or the lecturer or attend the consultation hours of any tutor. Each week, you will be given activities and problems to solve in workshops. Both assignments are individual submissions. The comments and the solutions provided will help you to understand the material in the unit, prepare you for the work in assignments as well as for the final exam. It is important that you keep up with these problems every week. Assignments have been designed to deliver continuous feedback on your work.
Each week you should:
Lecture notes are made available each week but these notes are intended as an outline of the lecture only and are not a substitute for your own notes or reading of the textbook or other additional material.
Classes
Each week you should attend two hours of lectures (or watch the recorded lecture), and a 2-hour workshop. For details of days, times and rooms consult the timetables webpage.
Note that workshops commence in week 1.
Digital recordings of lectures will be available through the web page of the unit on ilearn.
Various reading materials will be provided throughout the semester
MS Word, LucidCharts/draw.io, MySQL Workbench
The web page for this unit can be found at http://ilearn.mq.edu.au/
The unit makes use of discussion boards hosted within iLearn. Please post questions of general interest there (for example, about assessment tasks), they are monitored by the unit staff but students may also provide answers.
In the table below, for each week, the lecturer, the topics to be covered and the textbook references are given.
Week |
Lecturer |
Topic |
Reading/Chapter |
1 |
Yang |
Introduction to unit and Conceptual Data Modelling |
Online resources |
2 |
Ramakrishnan |
Conceptual Data Modelling |
Online resources |
3 |
Ramakrishnan |
Conceptual Data Modelling |
Online resources |
4 |
Ramakrishnan |
Conceptual Data Modelling+ Logical Modelling |
Online resources |
5 |
Ramakrishnan |
Logical Modelling+ Normalisation |
Online resources |
6 |
Ramakrishnan |
Logical Modelling+ Normalisation |
Online resources |
7 |
Ranjbartabar |
SQL concepts |
Online resources |
8 |
Ranjbartabar |
SQL concepts |
Online resources |
9 |
Yang |
SQL concepts |
Online resources |
10 |
Yang |
Database Application Development and Data Warehousing |
Online resources |
11 |
Yang |
Data Quality and Green IT |
Online resources |
12 |
Yang |
Big Data |
Online resources |
13 |
Ramakrishnan, Ranjbartabar & Yang |
Revision, Exam Preparation |
Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central (https://staff.mq.edu.au/work/strategy-planning-and-governance/university-policies-and-procedures/policy-central). Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:
Students seeking more policy resources can visit the Student Policy Gateway (https://students.mq.edu.au/support/study/student-policy-gateway). It is your one-stop-shop for the key policies you need to know about throughout your undergraduate student journey.
If you would like to see all the policies relevant to Learning and Teaching visit Policy Central (https://staff.mq.edu.au/work/strategy-planning-and-governance/university-policies-and-procedures/policy-central).
Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/study/getting-started/student-conduct
Results published on platform other than eStudent, (eg. iLearn, Coursera etc.) or released directly by your Unit Convenor, are not confirmed as they are subject to final approval by the University. Once approved, final results will be sent to your student email address and will be made available in eStudent. For more information visit ask.mq.edu.au or if you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@mq.edu.au
Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/
Learning Skills (mq.edu.au/learningskills) provides academic writing resources and study strategies to help you improve your marks and take control of your study.
The Library provides online and face to face support to help you find and use relevant information resources.
Students with a disability are encouraged to contact the Disability Service who can provide appropriate help with any issues that arise during their studies.
For all student enquiries, visit Student Connect at ask.mq.edu.au
If you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@mq.edu.au
For help with University computer systems and technology, visit http://www.mq.edu.au/about_us/offices_and_units/information_technology/help/.
When using the University's IT, you must adhere to the Acceptable Use of IT Resources Policy. The policy applies to all who connect to the MQ network including students.