The student is required to propose, design and undertake an independent project demonstrating the use of data analytics to provide critical insight to support decision making in a real-world domain context.
The project is intended to be carried out to meet the needs of a client (this does not need to be a real client, but the requirement of the hypothetical client can be agreed with the project supervisor) with the outputs of the module including a report for the client on the research findings, such that those findings can then impact upon some aspect of performance, as appropriate for the client. Additional outputs from the project module are a multimedia artefact (e.g. a brief video) through which the student communicates their findings in a succinct, clear and easily understood format, and a research paper in which the project is described and the findings are presented for an academic audience.
The aim of this module is to enable students to apply the skills and knowledge gained throughout their programme to the analysis of a specific problem or issue relevant to the area of data analytics, and implementation of a solution to this problem, via a non-trivial piece of independent work carried out. Furthermore, the aim is for students to demonstrate proficiency in the communication of the findings and the results from the project.
Students are expected to consider and report upon the ethical, legal, social and sustainable context that apply to the project.
As this is a project module, serving as a capstone for the MSc Data Analytics, there is no specific syllabus for the module.
The project module will commence following the completion of Data Analytics Project Preparation 1, during which students will have developed skills that will be required for the implementation of the project. During the first half of the project module, students will complete the Data Analytics Project Preparation 2 module, in which they will develop skills primarily focussed on writing and communicating results, insights and findings for different audiences, including clients and academic audiences.
For the first half of the project module, students will have an individual supervisor. The supervisor will liaise with the student periodically for advice and guidance via regular meetings. The supervisor will encourage the student to think and reason for themselves and assist with the critical skills and decision making needed at postgraduate level. The student and supervisor will keep a joint log of each meeting where the topics discussed and the tasks agreed for the next meeting are recorded.
As the project is an individual piece of work, significant emphasis will be placed on student’s ability to work independently towards the final deliverable. The supervisor will be responsible for guiding but not directing the student. During the project, the supervisor will be responsible for:
- monitoring the progress of the work,
- advising the students on any problem associated with the work,
- maintenance of appropriate academic standards in the work,
- encouraging the students to complete the work within the established time.
Over the summer period, student will be supported through drop in sessions in which students can get technical guidance, general advise and advice on the communication of their findings and results in the project deliverables: the research paper, the client report, the multimedia artefact and the final presentation.
Specific guidance will be provided to students on each component of the deliverables. The guiding wordcount for the research paper is 10000 words. The determination of the appropriate length for the client report and the multimedia artefact is a task for the student, considering good practice in communication.
| Module Content & Assessment | |
|---|---|
| Assessment Breakdown | % |
| Other Assessment(s) | 100 |