This course introduces the principles of data representation, summarisation and presentation with particular emphasis on the use of graphics. The course will use the R Language in a modern computing environment. Topics to be discussed include:

·        Data representation; examples of good and bad graphics; principles of graphic construction; some pitfalls to be avoided; presentation graphics.

·        Graphics environments; interactive graphics; windows; linked windows; graphics objects.

·        Statistical graphics; stem and leaf plots, box plots, histograms; smoothing histograms; quantile-quantile plots; representing multivariate data; scatterplots; clustering; stars and faces; dynamic graphics including data rotation and brushing.

·        Relationships between variables; smoothing scatterplots; simple regression; modelling and diagnostic plots; exploring surfaces; contour plots and perspective plots; multiple regression; relationships in time and space; time series modelling and diagnostic plots.

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:

1. Demonstrate working knowledge of the R statistical computing language, particularly graphical capabilities.
2. Explain and be able to apply the principles of good data representation.
3. Explain and be able to use various graphics environments, interactive graphics and graphics objects.
4. Construct graphical representations of one dimensional data.
5. Construct graphical representations for multivariate data including scatterplots, and dynamic graphics.
6. Use diagnostic plots when conducting statistical modelling to explore and refine statistical models for data, including explanations of such use.
7. Construct and interpret graphical displays for dependent data.

Research-Led Teaching

Statistics is a discipline that informs many other disciplines - basically, any discipline that generates or uses data (of almost any kind) can benefit from Statistics. This makes Statistics very naturally a companion to research-led teaching, and data visualisation is a key element of the way in which Statistics can allow researchers to see structure in high-dimensional data. In this course, we will look at a number of real data sets that address real research problems, and we will see (literally) how statistics can lead to a deeper understanding of the structures underlying the data. 

Examination Material or equipment

Not applicable

Required Resources

R (free to download)

The course makes extensive use of the free R software for statistical computing. PC/Mac labs are located at many places around campus: for an exhaustive list, visit https://services.anu.edu.au/information-technology/software-systems

Students should be able to use their student cards to access these computing laboratories and should have a computer account automatically set up for them upon registration for this course. If you have not registered for the course, your card will not allow you access to the lab. To get started with the computing requirements for the course, students should make sure that they read the document "Introductory R Worksheet 1: PC familiarity" (linked to from the R workshop page, a link to which appears on the class home page). This document describes how you can log in to the PC’s. This document will also tell you how you can obtain or view other documents that you will find useful to learn about the computing setup for the course.

After this initial handout, all handouts will be available only through the class web page at http://wattle.anu.edu.au

From the web page, you will be able to print out all of the lecture notes, all of the computer code used in the class, and all the tutorials and solutions. No handouts will be made available except on the class web page. A number of data sets will be analysed during lectures, live using R as much as possible. To assist you in understanding the data analyses, the R code used to produce displays discussed in class will be made available to you on the class web page. You are free to use and modify this code in conducting your own analyses. 

Lecture Notes (available on Wattle). Class materials, including detailed lecture notes, class lecture demonstrations, tutorials, assignments and other relevant materials, will be made available on the class web page hosted on Wattle at http://wattle.anu.edu.au. To log on to Wattle, you need to have an ANU ID (your student number) and a password (the same as for obtaining your e-mail). In order to access the class web page within Wattle, you will need to be formally enrolled in the course or you will need to have arranged access with me (e.g. if you are an Honours student). The class web page will be updated with new information on a regular basis, and will also contain links to other places of interest (such as an R workshop initially). It is essential that you visit the class web page regularly. 

Reference materials

The course makes extensive use of the R statistical programming language. Learning R can be a daunting task, but there are numerous easy-to-read guides to R on the web. Also, you can use own-paced, interactive lessons within R using the swirl package (http://www.swirlstats.com) 

Recommended Resources

Whether you are on campus or studying online, there are a variety of online platforms you will use to participate in your study program. These could include videos for lectures and other instruction, two-way video conferencing for interactive learning, email and other messaging tools for communication, interactive web apps for formative and collaborative activities, print and/or photo/scan for handwritten work and drawings, and home-based assessment.

ANU outlines recommended student system requirements to ensure you are able to participate fully in your learning. Other information is also available about the various Learning Platforms you may use.

Staff Feedback

1. Students will be given feedback in the following forms in this course:

• Individual feedback on assignments will be posted to Wattle within the Gradebook.
• Only you will be able to see feedback on your assignment.
• Summary feedback reflecting patterns in data analyses will be posted to Wattle. This
• feedback will not identify individuals, but will rather be broad in scope and describe general patterns of response to the analyses of the data. 

Student Feedback

ANU is committed to the demonstration of educational excellence and regularly seeks feedback from students. Students are encouraged to offer feedback directly to their Course Convener or through their College and Course representatives (if applicable). Feedback can also be provided to Course Conveners and teachers via the Student Experience of Learning & Teaching (SELT) feedback program. SELT surveys are confidential and also provide the Colleges and ANU Executive with opportunities to recognise excellent teaching, and opportunities for improvement.

Class Schedule

Week/Session	Summary of Activities	Assessment
1	Introduction and getting to know R	Chapter 1, R Workshop, Tutorial 1 - NOTE THAT ASSESSMENT ITEMS ARE AVAILABLE ON WATTLE AT THE START OF THE COURSE
2	R, Graphics in R	Chapter 1, R Quiz (Wattle) available
3	Representing and comparing distributions	Chapter 2, Tutorial 2
4	Representing and comparing distributions	Chapter 2, Tutorial 3
5	Relationships between 2 variables	Chapter 3, ASSESSMENT: Assignment 1 due
6	Relationships between 2 variables	Chapter 3, Tutorial 4
7	Relationships between 3 and more variables	Chapter 4
8	Relationships between 3 and more variables	Chapter 4, Tutorial 5
9	Relationships between 3 and more variables	Chapter 4
10	Relationships between 3 and more variables/Time dependent data	Chapter 4, Chapter 5, Tutorial 6
11	Time Series and Dependent Data	Chapter 5, Tutorial 7, ASSESSMENT: Assignment 2 due
12	Graphical Construction	Chapter 6, Tutorial 8, ASSESSMENT: Note that Project due on first day of exam period.

Tutorial Registration

NONE - there are NO separate tutorials. The weekly consultation time will be online with Zoom links posted on Wattle. This time will be an opportunity for members of the class to seek advice on Lecture and Tutorial material, all of which will be posted online, on Wattle, with videos for each topic and tutorial. Not compulsory. There are no separate tutorials, and you DO NOT need to use the MyTimetable facility for this course.

Assessment Summary

Assessment task	Value	Due Date	Return of assessment	Learning Outcomes
R Quiz	0 %	07/08/2023	07/08/2023	1
Assignment 1	20 %	25/08/2023	19/09/2023	1, 2, 3, 4
Assignment 2	20 %	20/10/2023	02/11/2023	1, 2, 3, 6, 7
Project	60 %	02/11/2023	30/11/2023	1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

* If the Due Date and Return of Assessment date are blank, see the Assessment Tab for specific Assessment Task details

Policies

ANU has educational policies, procedures and guidelines , which are designed to ensure that staff and students are aware of the University’s academic standards, and implement them. Students are expected to have read the Academic Integrity Rule before the commencement of their course. Other key policies and guidelines include:

• Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure
• Student Assessment (Coursework) Policy and Procedure
• Extenuating Circumstances Application
• Student Surveys and Evaluations
• Deferred Examinations
• Student Complaint Resolution Policy and Procedure
• Code of practice for teaching and learning

Assessment Requirements

The ANU is using Turnitin to enhance student citation and referencing techniques, and to assess assignment submissions as a component of the University's approach to managing Academic Integrity. For additional information regarding Turnitin please visit the Academic Skills website. In rare cases where online submission using Turnitin software is not technically possible; or where not using Turnitin software has been justified by the Course Convener and approved by the Associate Dean (Education) on the basis of the teaching model being employed; students shall submit assessment online via ‘Wattle’ outside of Turnitin, or failing that in hard copy, or through a combination of submission methods as approved by the Associate Dean (Education). The submission method is detailed below.

Moderation of Assessment

Marks that are allocated during Semester are to be considered provisional until formalised by the College examiners meeting at the end of each Semester. If appropriate, some moderation of marks might be applied prior to final results being released.

Participation

All course materials - videos for each topic, posted by week both on the main Wattle page and on Echo360 (same videos, slightly smaller format). Live classes will be held as timetabled. These will be recorded and will go over material as per the weekly topic videos (with an opportunity for people to ask questions). You can prepare for the classes by watching the videos posted on Wattle, so come prepared. These live classes will be recorded and posted to Echo360, but the main resource will be the weekly topic videos. EVERYTHING WILL BE AVAILABLE ON WATTLE. Attendance at any live class is not compulsory, and the course is designed so that you can access everything on Wattle.

Examination(s)

None

Assessment Task 1

R Quiz

Learning R is critical for this course. The R Quiz is a brief online Quiz on Wattle that will allow you to check on how much you have learned about R as we begin the course after the introductory R material is introduced in the course. 

The R Quiz will be available on Wattle at the start of the course, carries no formal assessment weight, and can be attempted multiple times.

Assessment Task 2

Assignment 1

Analyse data given and present analysis using R software. The answers should be written in report style in clear language. Hand in both text and graphics as part of your answer. The graphics you hand in should be RELEVANT: that is DO NOT HAND IN EVERY GRAPHIC YOU PRODUCE IN THE PROCESS OF WORKING THROUGH THE ASSIGNMENT. Marks will be deducted if you hand in irrelevant graphics, and if your graphics are not sufficiently adorned with explanatory titles and axis labels and so on. The text part of your answer should be in the form of a report: it is not sufficient to merely annotate the graphics you produce. The text part of your report must be CONCISE and TO THE POINT: answers that are too lengthy may also be penalized. Assignment 1 concerns the topic of representing and comparing distributions. Assignment 1 has a page limit of 4 (FOUR) pages (single-sided). Submissions that exceed the page limit will only have material up to the page limit assessed (i.e. additional material will be disregarded).

The task sheet for this Project is available on Wattle at the start of the course under the Assignments section. More details about what is expected will be posted on Wattle under the Assignments and Project topic (including video).

Assessment Task 3

Assignment 2

Analyse data given and present analysis using R software. The answers should be written in report style in clear language. Hand in both text and graphics as part of your answer. The graphics you hand in should be RELEVANT: that is DO NOT HAND IN EVERY GRAPHIC YOU PRODUCE IN THE PROCESS OF WORKING THROUGH THE ASSIGNMENT. Marks will be deducted if you hand in irrelevant graphics, and if your graphics are not sufficiently adorned with explanatory titles and axis labels and so on. The text part of your answer should be in the form of a report: it is not sufficient to merely annotate the graphics you produce. The text part of your report must be CONCISE and TO THE POINT: answers that are too lengthy may also be penalized. Assignment 2 concerns the topic of time series and dependent data. Assignment 2 has a page limit of 4 (FOUR) pages (single-sided). Submissions that exceed the page limit will only have material up to the page limit assessed (i.e. additional material will be disregarded).

The task sheet for this Assignment is available on Wattle at the start of the course under the Assignments section. More details about what is expected will be posted on Wattle under the Assignments and Project topic (including video).

Assessment Task 4

Project

The project is a vital part of the course. The purpose of the project is to (1) encourage you to be more aware and to examine graphics more critically; and (2) enable you to put the principles and methods of graphical data analysis to work on a substantial problem. The project is intended to be a piece of independent work that is carried out essentially without assistance. The project consists of two parts, both of which are compulsory.

1. Graphic Awareness. A collection of three statistical graphics with written comments on each graphic. These graphics should be collected during the semester from published work. You may not draw your own graphics or ask a friend (or anybody, for that matter) to do so for you. Credit will be given for interesting, carefully chosen graphics which show evidence of reasonable wide searching. In addition to including a copy of the graphic itself, you should document the source of the graphic (title of article, authors, source including title, page numbers etc.) and discuss the graphic. Your discussion may include the reason for the graphic, strengths and weaknesses, etc, and may include redrawn, improved versions of the graphic. The discussion should be brief, relevant and insightful, not longwinded.
2. Graphical Analysis. A few weeks into the course, I will provide a short list of data sets and some documentation for them. You must choose one of these data sets, analyse it, and prepare for submission a concise, well-organized report on your analysis. Your analysis must be appropriate and it must be substantially (though not necessarily exclusively) graphical. Your report should begin with a clear statement of the problem you are addressing and the context in which it arises. You should describe what you have done and why. Relevant graphics and/or output should be included in the report, and all such results should be discussed and interpreted in the text. The entire report must be shorter than 8 pages including graphics and data (any page after the 8th will be ignored), and the written part should not be longer than 4 to 5 pages. Attempts to defy the spirit of the page limit by using unreadable typefaces and so on will be noticed, so please don't do it. Submissions that exceed the page limit will only have material up to the page limit assessed (i.e. additional material will be disregarded).

The task sheet for this Project is available on Wattle at the start of the course under the Assignments section. More details about what is expected will be posted on Wattle under the Assignments and Project topic (including video).

Academic Integrity

Academic integrity is a core part of the ANU culture as a community of scholars. The University’s students are an integral part of that community. The academic integrity principle commits all students to engage in academic work in ways that are consistent with, and actively support, academic integrity, and to uphold this commitment by behaving honestly, responsibly and ethically, and with respect and fairness, in scholarly practice.

The University expects all staff and students to be familiar with the academic integrity principle, the Academic Integrity Rule 2021, the Policy: Student Academic Integrity and Procedure: Student Academic Integrity, and to uphold high standards of academic integrity to ensure the quality and value of our qualifications.

The Academic Integrity Rule 2021 is a legal document that the University uses to promote academic integrity, and manage breaches of the academic integrity principle. The Policy and Procedure support the Rule by outlining overarching principles, responsibilities and processes. The Academic Integrity Rule 2021 commences on 1 December 2021 and applies to courses commencing on or after that date, as well as to research conduct occurring on or after that date. Prior to this, the Academic Misconduct Rule 2015 applies.

 

The University commits to assisting all students to understand how to engage in academic work in ways that are consistent with, and actively support academic integrity. All coursework students must complete the online Academic Integrity Module (Epigeum), and Higher Degree Research (HDR) students are required to complete research integrity training. The Academic Integrity website provides information about services available to assist students with their assignments, examinations and other learning activities, as well as understanding and upholding academic integrity.

Online Submission

Materials will be submitted via Turnitin. You will be required to electronically sign a declaration when you submit your assessable work. Please retain a copy of your assignment for your records.

Hardcopy Submission

Online submission only

Late Submission

Individual assessment tasks may or may not allow for late submission. Policy regarding late submission is detailed below:

• Late submission not permitted. If submission of assessment tasks without an extension after the due date is not permitted, a mark of 0 will be awarded.

Referencing Requirements

The Academic Skills website has information to assist you with your writing and assessments. The website includes information about Academic Integrity including referencing requirements for different disciplines. There is also information on Plagiarism and different ways to use source material.

Extensions and Penalties

Extensions and late submission of assessment pieces are covered by the Student Assessment (Coursework) Policy and Procedure. Extensions may be granted for assessment pieces that are not examinations or take-home examinations. If you need an extension, you must request an extension in writing on or before the due date. If you have documented and appropriate medical evidence that demonstrates you were not able to request an extension on or before the due date, you may be able to request it after the due date.

Resubmission of Assignments

Not applicable

Privacy Notice

The ANU has made a number of third party, online, databases available for students to use. Use of each online database is conditional on student end users first agreeing to the database licensor’s terms of service and/or privacy policy. Students should read these carefully. In some cases student end users will be required to register an account with the database licensor and submit personal information, including their: first name; last name; ANU email address; and other information.
In cases where student end users are asked to submit ‘content’ to a database, such as an assignment or short answers, the database licensor may only use the student’s ‘content’ in accordance with the terms of service – including any (copyright) licence the student grants to the database licensor. Any personal information or content a student submits may be stored by the licensor, potentially offshore, and will be used to process the database service in accordance with the licensors terms of service and/or privacy policy.
If any student chooses not to agree to the database licensor’s terms of service or privacy policy, the student will not be able to access and use the database. In these circumstances students should contact their lecturer to enquire about alternative arrangements that are available.

Distribution of grades policy

Academic Quality Assurance Committee monitors the performance of students, including attrition, further study and employment rates and grade distribution, and College reports on quality assurance processes for assessment activities, including alignment with national and international disciplinary and interdisciplinary standards, as well as qualification type learning outcomes.

Since first semester 1994, ANU uses a grading scale for all courses. This grading scale is used by all academic areas of the University.

Support for students

The University offers students support through several different services. You may contact the services listed below directly or seek advice from your Course Convener, Student Administrators, or your College and Course representatives (if applicable).

• ANU Health, safety & wellbeing for medical services, counselling, mental health and spiritual support
• ANU Access and inclusion for students with a disability or ongoing or chronic illness
• ANU Dean of Students for confidential, impartial advice and help to resolve problems between students and the academic or administrative areas of the University
• ANU Academic Skills and Learning Centre supports you make your own decisions about how you learn and manage your workload.
• ANU Counselling Centre promotes, supports and enhances mental health and wellbeing within the University student community.
• ANUSA supports and represents all ANU students