DEPARTMENT OF DECISION SCIENCES

DNSC 4211 – Programming for Analytics

Fall 2021 Course Syllabus
“What we want is a machine that can learn from experience”
-Alan Turing
Shraddha Gawankar, Ph.D., Visiting Assistant Professor
Department Decision Sciences
Instructor:
Funger Hall, 4th Floor, Suite 405 Phone: 202-994-1957
Email: [email protected]
Time & Place: Where: Rome Hall 205, Time: 11:10 am - 12:25 pm, Days: Monday, Wednesday
T (9:00 am to 10:30 am) and R (5:00 pm to 6:30 pm) - Online
Office Hours: Additional office hours will be announced as per availability, other times by appointment
Instructor provided material:
• Week wise materials will be uploaded in the relevant classes via blackboard.
Textbooks & The following books are recommended (not required). They are available free online:
Reading • Learning Python, 5th Edition by Mark Lutz, O’Reilly Media, 2013. ISBN 978-1-4493- 5573-9
Materials: • Python for Data Analysis: Data Wrangling with Pandas, NumPy, and IPython by Wes McKinny,
O’Reilly Media, 2012. ISBN 978-1-4493-1979-3
• The Art of R Programming and R for Data Science. ISBN-13: 978-1593273842
The goal is to turn data into information, and information into insight. The world is now awash with data
in all forms and kinds. Data generation and analysis are not sufficient.
Programming is important for those who are aiming for a
career in the Data Science/Business Analytics domain, then
having a rendezvous with statistics is a necessity. In this
analytical age, the turnaround time allowed for making
Course decisions are decreasing. To be able to compete better, it
Description:
necessitates the integration of machine learning algorithms
into the decision-making process.

This course emphasizes clear understanding of machine learning techniques and its application in business
context. To enable you to upskill rapidly in the Data Science domain. This class is designed so that you
will ‘learn by doing’ individually as well as in groups and to learn the techniques in a hands-on way using
real world datasets with inputs from the instructor.
So, are you ready to power up your career and learn the best programming language for data science?
• Exposure to R and Python tools and techniques used
to solve problems in real fields such as data science
• Create and interpret data visualizations using the R
Course & Python programming language and associated
Objectives packages & libraries
• Apply statistical modeling techniques for descriptive
and predictive analytics
• Participate in and get evaluated in competitive
analytics platforms like Kaggle.
Academic
• Students need to ensure that they have successfully complete the
Math/Stat requirement. Some prior programming experience (e.g. a high
school programming course) in any programming language is strongly
Prerequisites encouraged. This is not an introductory programming course.
Technological
• Python (preferred environment Anaconda),
• R (preferred environment is the free version of RStudio)
 Course material:
The course will be conducted through lectures, discussions, readings and individual exercises, and other
activities. The role of students in the learning process is crucial. All course material will be provided;
optional textbooks are recommended

EXPECTATIONS:
1. Students are expected to thoroughly review the assigned readings before class.
2. This course makes extensive use of Blackboard.
Classroom Sessions Prep:
This is a three-credit undergraduate course. Students will spend 2.5 hours per week in classroom sessions.
Course
Out of classroom sessions, we need to spend a minimum of six hours of self-study per week for readings,
delivery
assignments, and test preparation. This minimum expectation will more than double in some weeks. Over
Credit Hour the course of the semester, students will spend 35 hours in instructional time and at least 84 hours preparing
Policy for class. Instructional time includes discussions and activities in classroom sessions.

NORMS AND EXPECTATIONS:

1. Our class will meet Monday and Wednesday at Rome Hall, 205. Please make a note that all
classroom sessions will as per Eastern Standard Time (EST). All sessions will be recorded.
2. Our success will depend on the commitment, we all bring to the physical classroom. We will
adopt the same rules and norms (take notes; participate by asking and answering questions).
3. Class attendance is expected in the classroom sessions and is crucial since the class-time is
designed to complement your self-paced activities. If, for some reason, you cannot attend the
session(s), it is your responsibility to go through the recorded session.
We will cover different types of business intelligence and analytics (Descriptive, Diagnostic, Predictive
and Prescriptive)., following table provide class wise outline of topics, required reading before sync
Course sessions, assignments submission date and tentative exams date. This course focuses on the practical side
Outline: of programming that is necessary for running the digital world.
In other words, the purpose of these course is to teach you how to drive the car, not prepare you to be a
mechanic.

Assignment
Language

Reading

Due *
Class Date Topic
Day

(to do before
class meets)

Bootcamp (I): Getting the environment ready (Understanding of R

System and installation and configuration of R-Environment and R- Async_Material
00 27-Aug F R Studio) (Aug 27, 2021, 9:00 am to 10:15 am (Friday) _Folder_00
‒ Optional – Online (Session will be recorded)
• Data Science: R Basics
(Understanding of nuts and bolts of R)
01 30 -Aug M R – R program Structure, R Data Type, Command Syntax and Async_Material_
Control Structures, Folder_01
– File Operations in R
02 01-Sept W R – Simple workflow and functions
-- 03-Sept F R Practice with Professor (Optional - Online) Time: 4:00 pm – 5:00 pm
• Statistical analysis using R: Async_Material_
03 08-Sept W R – Importing datasets, cleaning data, descriptive statistics Folder_02
-- 10-Sept F R Practice with Professor (Optional - Online) Time: 4:00 pm – 5:00 pm
– Multiple Regression – using case study Async_Material_
04 13-Sept M R
Folder_02
• Data Visualization using R (ggplot): Async_Material_
05 15-Sept W R – Basic and interactive plots, grammar of graphics A_01 (I)
Folder_03
-- 17-Sept F R Practice with Professor (Optional - Online) Time: 4:00 pm – 5:00 pm
06 20-Sept M R – Case Study: Exploratory Data Analysis in R
 • Data Wrangling using R (I)
(Learn to process and convert raw data into formats needed for analysis)
07 22-Sept W R Async_Material_ A_02 (G)
– Data handling (Introduction to dplyr and tidyr library)
– Importing, Scraping, and Exporting Data with R Folder_04
-- 24-Sept F R Practice with Professor (Optional - Online) Time: 4:00 pm – 5:00 pm
08 27-Sept M R – Creating Efficient and Readable Code in R
• Data Wrangling using R (II) Async_Material_
09 29-Sept W R A_03 (I)
– Shaping and Transforming Data with R Folder_05
-- 01-Oct F R Practice with Professor (Optional - Online) Time: 4:00 pm – 5:00 pm
10 04-Oct M R – Case Study
• Data Visualization using Shiny App in R (I) Async_Material_ A_04 (G)
11 06-Oct W R – Shiny Basics Folder_06
-- 08-Oct F R Practice with Professor (Optional - Online) Time: 4:00 pm – 5:00 pm
12 11-Oct M R – Styling a Shiny App
• Data Visualization using Shiny App in R (II) Async_Material_
13 13-Oct W R – Shiny Deployment, Shiny Dashboard A_05 (I)
Folder_07
-- 15-Oct F R Practice with Professor (Optional - Online) Time: 4:00 pm – 5:00 pm
14 18-Oct R Review for midterm Review for Mid
T
Term 2021
15 20-Oct R R MID TERM EXAMINATION
22-Oct No session
• Introduction to Python:
16 25-Oct Python – Understanding operators, Variables and Data Types
M – Conditional statements, Looping constructs Async_Material_
Folder_08
– Functions and Data structures
17 27-Oct W Python – List and Dictionaries
-- 29-Oct F Python Practice with Professor (Optional - Online) Time: 4:00 pm – 5:00 pm
• Pandas for Data Analysis in Python
18 01-Nov Python – Read and Write data using Pandas, Pandas Dataframes, Async_Material_
M Data Exploration Folder_09
19 03-Nov W Python • Data Manipulation, Aggregating Data, Merging Data
-- 05-Nov F Python Practice with Professor (Optional - Online) Time: 4:00 pm – 5:00 pm
• Data Visualization using Python (matplotlib, NumPy)
20 08-Nov M Python – Python Plotting with Matplotlib Async_Material_
Folder_10
21 10-Nov W Python – Case Study: Data Visualization and Exploration
-- 12-Nov F Python Practice with Professor (Optional - Online) Time: 4:00 pm – 5:00 pm
• Building Model for Prediction & Classification Problems
22 15-Nov M Python – Multiple Linear Regression Async_Material_ A_06 (G)
Folder_11
23 17-Nov W Python – Logistic Regression
-- 19-Nov F Python Practice with Professor (Optional - Online) Time: 4:00 pm – 5:00 pm
• Sentiment analysis using Python
24 22-Nov M Python – Sentiment analysis Async_Material_ A_07 (I)
Folder_12
26-Nov W Python NO CLASS (THANKSGIVING)
-- 27-Nov No session
• Machine learning workflow in Python
25 29-Nov M Python – Clustering Techniques: K- Means. Async_Material_
Folder_13
26 01-Dec W Python – K-Nearest Neighbors
-- 03-Dec F Python Practice with Professor (Optional - Online) Time: 4:00 pm – 5:00 pm
27 06-Dec M Python Review for Final Async_Material_
28 08-Dec W Python Review for Final (continued) Folder_14 A_08 (G)
-- 10-Dec F Python No session
15-Dec 2020 FINAL EXAMINATION Time: 11:00 am – 2:00 pm (EST)
(to be confirmed by undergraduate scheduling office)
 The entire data analytic community progressing so rapidly throughout the world because of
blogging culture same practice we will use in our course as part of assessment. We call it as
“Sharing is caring” on this philosophy students shared their concerns and solution with each
other. For each assigned topic, you have an opportunity to first participate in discussion forum for
specific discussion questions asked. As and when possible, I will provide my comments and
thoughts on these topics. Please note that your discussion should reflect the inclusion of the topics
Attendance/Class discussed in the readings, assignments through the week of the assigned topic. These discussions
participation/
will not be graded weekly but will be included in your course
Discussion
Forums/blogs participation and contributions grades based on the quality and
frequency of your discussions.

NORMS AND EXPECTATIONS:

‒ Additional credit will be allotted for active participation.
‒ Earn extra points every week for posting at least one/multiple questions/interesting
ideas/doubts/suggestions/different logic etc. by every Saturday, 11:59 (midnight).
Assignments are designed to analyze (i.e., draw connections), evaluate (i.e., justify a decision),
and create (i.e., produce original programs). There will be total 08 programming assignments (four
individual and four groups) based on R and Python. Assignments will be distributed at least one
week before their due date via Blackboard. Assignments will be released at 2:00 pm and
submission link will be available till 11:55 (midnight) Eastern Time on the specified due date.
Assignments will be submitted using blackboard. All assignments will receive a thorough code
review and a detailed grade based on following rubric:
• Produces the correct answer using the requested approach: 100%
• Generally, uses the right approach, but a minor mistake result in an incorrect answer: 90%
• Attempts to solve the problem and makes some progress using the core concept: 50%
• Answer demonstrates a lack of understanding of the core concept: 0%
Assignments will be distributed at least one week before their due date via Blackboard.
• The assignments will, for the most part, be based on what is covered in classes. However,
it is expected that students may need to do some independent study for each
individual/group assignment.
• Depending on the level of your preparation, each assignment can take between 1 to 4 hours.
There will be total 08 (four individual/ four group assignments) in this course.
Assignments
• No makeups will be allowed because the answers are designed to automatically release at
submission deadline.
• For Group Assignments: Groups will be formed at least one week before the release date
and details (Group name, members etc) will be available on BB (Note: For every group
assignment different group will be formed)
Release alert and submission reminder will be sent to students via announcement
Assignments Release date Submission date Submission Type
A_01 Sept 08, 2021 Sept 15, 2021 Individual (I)
A_02 Sept 15, 2021 Sept 22, 2021 Group (G)
A_03 Sept 22, 2021 Sept 29, 2021 Individual (I)
A_04 Sept 29, 2021 Oct 06, 2021 Group (G)
A_05 Oct 06, 2021 Oct 13, 2021 Individual (I)
A_06 Nov 08, 2021 Nov 15, 2021 Group (G)
A_07 Nov 15, 2021 Nov 22, 2021 Individual (I)
A_08 Dec 01, 2021 Dec 08, 2021 Group (G)
Mid-Term: Midterm will be conducted in class before spring break. (Format will be discussed in
Exams review session/mock midterm)
 Final Examination: Final examination date and other details will be confirmed by undergraduate
scheduling office. (Format will be discussed in review session/mock finals).
Evaluation component Weight Due dates Notes
Assignments 25 Estimated time: 1-4 hours/week
Grading framework
Class Participation 15
Midterm exam (Online) 30 20 - Oct
Final exam (Online) 30 15 - Dec
Total 100
Note: If the schedule of both examinations’ conflicts with your other course(s) examination,
inform me in advance via email for alternate arrangements. Failure to take the exams will result in
a zero and there is scope for make-up exam.
Grade Range Grade Range
Grading scale A 96-100 C+ 71-75
A- 91-95 C 66-70
B+ 86-90 Fail < 66
B 81-85
B- 76-80

Applicable Policies & Other Information: GWU takes academic integrity and intellectual property very seriously.
Copyright Do not post the shared asynchronous materials, voiceovers, sync session recordings, assignments,
Infringement syllabus, exams etc on any external sites like (Chegg, Course Hero) or any other website.
Academic honesty is an absolute expectation of all class participants and applies to all class-related
activities. Any violation of academic integrity will result in failure for the activity and for course.
I encourage each of you to review the university's policy regarding academic integrity at
Academic Integrity
https://studentconduct.gwu.edu/academic-integrity if you are unclear about what constitutes
academic dishonesty or if you have questions. In addition, please see
https://studentconduct.gwu.edu/code-student-conduct.
Any student who may need an accommodation based on the impact of a disability should contact
the Office of Disability Support Services (DSS) to inquire about the documentation necessary to
Disability Support
establish eligibility, and to coordinate a plan of reasonable and appropriate accommodations. DSS
Services
is located in Rome Hall, Suite 102. For additional information, please call DSS at 202-994-8250,
or consult Disability Support Services. For more information contact teaching support.
This syllabus represents the current plan of the course best possible plan at this time. The instructor
reserves the right to make revisions to any item on this syllabus, including, but not limited to any
class policy, the course outline and schedule, grading policy, required assessments, etc. Please note
Changes that the requirements for deliverables may be clarified and expanded in class, via email, or on
Blackboard and students are expected to complete the deliverables incorporating such
clarifications and additions. Thus, students should check email and Blackboard announcements
and discussion forums frequently before submitting deliverables.
The student is responsible for studying and understanding all assigned materials. If the assignments
generate questions that are not discussed in sessions, the student has the responsibility of
discussing with the instructor individually, or as is generally preferred, raising the issue in the
Other notes
session or in a discussion forum on Blackboard. The due dates for assignments are binding. The
final exam will be held in the final exam week on the date decided by the University. Please ensure
that you plan accordingly.