10  Assignments

The primary course assignments for 431 include:

The rest of this section provides some information about each of these assignments. See the Assignments page on the course website for direct links to instructions and other details. Information on course grades is found in Chapter 11.

10.1 Deadlines for Assignments

All deadlines are posted on the Course Calendar, which is the final word for all deadlines.

  • On every assignment, we will be delighted to respond to questions up to 3 hours before the assignment is due. After that time, you may wind up on your own. The reason for this is that Professor Love and the teaching assistants will regularly post responses to frequently asked questions about assignments, and we need sufficient time to accomplish this task.

10.2 Projects

You will complete two projects this semester. Project A is smaller in scope and comes with more detailed instructions and requirements than does Project B. The main reason why we have two Projects is that I can’t figure out a way to get you to think about all of the things I hope you’ll learn from this course in a single project.

  1. We set different tasks for each Project, allowing us to touch on a wider fraction of the things I hope you’ll learn in 431.
  2. The projects use different data sets, types of sources and study designs, and also require varying analyses and use different methods for communicating results.
  3. We provide far more guidance (and instruction) for Project A than for Project B.
  4. Completing Project A makes later assignments (including Project B) easier for you to do and for us to evaluate.
  5. Having a broad range of project activities to evaluate helps reduce the cost of a mistake on any one of them, so that you can build skills.

Links to the instructions for each project can be found on our Assignments page.

10.3 Labs

During the semester, there are seven lab assignments.

  • Most labs require straightforward demonstrations of mastery for core principles and fundamental skills. Some require deeper dives into more technically sophisticated material.
  • Most labs ask you to clean/visualize/analyze some data that we provide to you, and also to react to something we’re reading at the same time in the Spiegelhalter book.
  • You should anticipate that some coding in R and writing at least one essay will be required in most labs.

Lab assignments are submitted through Canvas. The link to post your responses for each Lab will appear in time for you to submit the work, usually just after the deadline for the preceding Lab has passed. After all submissions are in, Dr. Love will provide detailed answer sketches for each Lab.

More information on labs is available at this link.

10.4 Quizzes

There are two Quizzes this term.

  • Each Quiz is an open-book assessment of everything we’ll do between the start of the course and Class 13 (for Quiz 1) and Class 24 (for Quiz 2.)
    • Each quiz will include 20-30 multiple choice and short answer questions, plus as many as two longer essays.
    • Each quiz is designed to take 6-8 hours to complete, and you will have at least five days to complete each one, so we expect the time pressure to be minimal.
  • Each Quiz focuses on opportunities for you to demonstrate:
    • how well you can apply the tools developed in class to address small problems,
    • your ability to solve challenges from across the data science spectrum, and including those arising in data management, study design, data analysis, statistical modeling, interpretation and communication,
    • and your understanding of the readings associated with the course.

More information on the Quizzes is available at this link.

10.5 Minute Papers

Our Minute Papers are short surveys (completed using a Google Form) where you will answer a few questions about how the course is going for you, express your views and preferences, and comment on relevant concerns.

  • You should complete the Minute Paper even if you weren’t able to attend the most recent class.
  • Most Minute Papers take about 5 minutes to complete.
  • A good time to do these is right at the end of Tuesday’s class, but each Minute Paper is due at noon Wednesday to give you some time to reflect, if you’d like.
  • Your first assignment: the Welcome to 431 Survey uses a similar format, but is more extensive than a typical Minute Paper.

Only Professor Love sees the results of the Minute Papers with identifying information. Generally, he summarizes findings and provides feedback without identifying people as part of that week’s Thursday class.

More information on minute papers is available at this link.

10.6 Using Artificial Intelligence Tools

  1. The use of generative AI is prohibited for the Quizzes.
  2. Select use of generative AI is permitted (so long as you disclose it appropriately - see the assignment instructions) in developing code and improving communication in course labs and projects.

See Section 12.4.4 for additional language and policies on using generative AI software (such as ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini) at CWRU.