Classes

Lectures (beginning in Week 1): There are no formal lectures scheduled for this unit. Each week we will have some video recordings covering the course material.

SGTA classes (beginning in Week 2): Students must register in and attend one two-hour class per week.

The timetable for classes can be found on the University website at: https://timetables.mq.edu.au/

Enrolment can be managed using eStudent at: https://students.mq.edu.au/support/technology/systems/estudent

Suggested textbooks

The following textbooks are useful as supplementary resources, for additional questions and explanations. They are available from the Macquarie University library:

• Garrett Grolemund, Hadley Wickham & Mine Çetinkaya-Rundel (2023) R for Data Science, 2nd Edition. O’Reilly Media, Inc.
• Grolemund, G. (2014) Hands-on programming with R. 1st edition. Sebastopol, CA, O’Reilly Media.
• Wickham, H. (2016) ggplot2 Elegant Graphics for Data Analysis . 2nd ed. 2016. Cham, Springer International Publishing. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-24277-4.
• Wickham, H. (2015) R packages . First edition. Sebastopol, CA, O’Reilly.

Technology Used and Required

This subject requires the use of the following computer software:

• R: R is a free statistical software package. Access and installation instructions may be found at: https://www.r-project.org/
• RStudio: RStudio is an open-source tool that is used to manage and present work performed using R. Access and installation instructions may be found at https://rstudio.com/products/rstudio/download/
• LaTeX: LaTeX is a free mathematical typesetting program. Access and installation instructions may be found at: https://www.latex-project.org/get/

Students are invited to bring their own devices (BYOD) and a laptop is recommended. Acceptable platforms are Windows, Linux and Mac. 

Communication

We will communicate with you via your university email or through announcements on iLearn. Queries to convenors can either be placed on the iLearn discussion forum or sent to your lecturers from your university email address.

COVID Information

For the latest information on the University’s response to COVID-19, please refer to the Coron- avirus infection page on the Macquarie website: https://www.mq.edu.au/about/coronavirus-faqs. Remember to check this page regularly in case the information and requirements change during semester. If there are any changes to this unit in relation to COVID, these will be communicated via iLearn.

This is a draft schedule and is subjected to change.

We value student feedback to be able to continually improve the way we offer our units. As such we encourage students to provide constructive feedback via student surveys, to the teaching staff directly, or via the FSE Student Experience & Feedback link in the iLearn page.

Student feedback from the previous offering of this unit was very positive overall, with students pleased with the clarity around assessment requirements and the level of support from teaching staff. As such, no change to the delivery of the unit is planned, however we will continue to strive to improve the level of support and the level of student engagement.

Most of our hurdle assessments are linked to our teaching activities.

Assessment 1: Practice-based skills for SGTA classes (0%)

Development of knowledge and skills requires continual practice. During SGTAs you will practice a range of statistical techniques. To pass this hurdle assessment, you must be able to demonstrate your progress in developing and communicating knowledge and skills in 10 out of 12 SGTAs. This is a hurdle assessment meaning that failure to meet this requirement may result in a fail grade for the unit. Students are permitted up to two absences: additional absences will require a Special Consideration to be applied for (see below).

Unless a Special Consideration request has been submitted and approved, a 5% penalty (of the total possible mark) will be applied each day a written assessment is not submitted, up until the 7th day (including weekends). After the 7th day, a grade of 0 will be awarded even if the assessment is submitted. Submission time for all written assessments is set at 11:55 pm. A 1-hour grace period is provided to students who experience a technical concern.

For any late submission of time-sensitive tasks, such as scheduled tests/exams, performance assessments/presentations, and/or scheduled practical assessments/labs, students need to submit an application for Special Consideration.

Assessments where Late Submissions will be accepted.

• Participation to SGTA classes – NO, unless Special Consideration is granted;
• Problem Set 1 – YES, Standard Late Penalty applies;
• Problem Set 2 – YES, Standard Late Penalty applies;
• Project – YES, Standard Late Penalty applies;
• Presentation – YES, Standard Late Penalty applies.

To pass this unit you must:

• Achieve a total mark equal to or greater than 50%, and

• Participate in, and undertake all the Practice-based activities for a minimum of 10 of the 12 weekly SGTAs.

The Special Consideration Policy aims to support students who have been impacted by short-term circumstances or events that are serious, unavoidable and significantly disruptive, and which may affect their performance in assessment.

Written Assessments/Quizzes/Tests: If you experience circumstances or events that affect your ability to complete the written assessments in this unit on time, please inform the convenor and submit a Special Consideration request through ask.mq.edu.au.

Weekly practice-based tasks for SGTA classes: To pass the unit you need to demonstrate ongoing development of skills and application of knowledge in 10 out of 12 of the weekly SGTA classes. If you miss a weekly SGTA class due to a serious, unavoidable and significant disruption, contact your convenor ASAP as you may be able to attend another class that week.

If it is not possible to attend another class, you should still contact your convenor for access to class material to review in your own time.

Note that a Special Consideration should only be applied for if you miss more than two of the weekly SGTA classes.