Project Guidelines - Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi



Data Analytics Project Guidelines

Purpose – 1) Perform in-depth data analytics on a dataset to learn about the analysis of data and to create a report that clearly articulates the patterns and insights you found from your data analytics work; 2) Learn the basics of webpage design; 3) Learn about data analytics from other students in the class.

Step 1: Plan for your Data Analytics Project (5 points):

You will need to create a plan for your analytics project. This plan should be no more than one page long. You will need to address three things in the plan:

1) Name and Source of the Dataset you will use for your project. (Example: Immigration 2015-2018 Dataset from ). The most popular place for students to find a dataset is but it is fine for you to use a dataset from another source. Since there are a lot of datasets on , pick one that you think would be interesting to analyze. Download the dataset to your computer so you’ll have it available when you start on Step 2 of the project and make sure you can open it in Excel. IMPORTANT NOTE: No more than 2 students may cover the same dataset. If more than two students select the same dataset, I will approve the two students with the best plan and the other students will need to choose a different dataset.

2) You will need to create 7 questions. For each of the 7 questions, state the following: 1) The question you are going to explore in your analysis; 2) State how you will analyze the data to answer the question; 3) State whether it is a simple or complex analysis.

For you to get an A on your Step 2 project grade (the major part of the project grade), you will need to have at least two questions requiring a complex analysis. To be considered a complex analysis, you will need to use Excel tools such as correlation, pivot tables, ANOVA, and regression to analyze the data (there are plenty of online videos and websites describing how to do these analyses). If you are only answering questions using a simple analysis, such as answering the questions with sums and totals, then state that it is a simple analysis. There’s no need to do a complex analysis for all of your questions, but a student who performs a more complex analysis to answer 2-3 of the questions will get more points on Step 2 of the project than a student who only has a simple analysis to answer questions.

As an example, below are questions that a student may write up if examining a dataset on NBA Player salaries:

a. What has the percent growth been in NBA salaries each year? – I will sum the totals of each year’s salaries and then calculate percent growth per year to answer this. (SIMPLE)

b. Which are the teams that had the highest salaries? – I will sum the total salaries per team and then find the top 5 teams that pay the most in salaries. (SIMPLE)

c. Does the amount of salaries affect the amount a wins that a team has? – I will see if there is a statistically significant correlation between the total salary that a team pays and the amount of wins the team has. (COMPLEX)

d. Does the player salary correlate with a higher percentage of shots made? – I will see if there is a statistically significant correlation between the salaries of players and their percentage of shots made. (COMPLEX)

On some of the datasets, has descriptions about the data in the dataset and some questions that could be explored. If the dataset you are using has some questions, you can either choose to explore questions that has listed or you can create your own questions. Note that it is important to come up with questions that you will be able to answer by analyzing the data. Don’t create a question that you won’t be able to answer from your dataset. You will need to include an Excel graphical chart as a part of each of your answers, so they will need to be questions that are comparing data, looking at trends, etc.

3) Website you will use to present your project to other students. Every student in the class will be receiving your website link and will be able to view your analytics project. Which website do you want to use to host your research project? In the past, the most popular websites that students have used are and , but it is fine for you to use any webhosting site that you like.

After submitting Step 1, your instructor will give you feedback in the Blackboard gradebook on your plan. Your plan will either be approved or need modifications. Make sure you make any necessary modifications to your plan before starting on Step 2 of the project.

Step 2: Perform the Data Analytics and then Create the Website (80 points):

Perform all the analyses necessary to answer the questions in your plan. You will need a graphical Excel chart to support each of your answers. When you are done with all of your analysis, you can then create your data analytics research website. You’ll need one website that has three pages on it. Below are the three pages you’ll need to create and the content you’ll need on each page (make sure there are tabs or links on each page so that it is easy to navigate among the three pages):

1) Data Analytics Project Overview

a. Your Name

b. Data Analytics Project Title

c. Name of Dataset used

d. Description of Dataset (3-4 sentences describing the content of your dataset)

2) Analysis of Data - State each of the 7 questions you are answering and then your answer to each question. Type your answer to your question and use a graphical chart to support every answer. For example, to answer the percent growth in NBA salaries each year, I could state the answer and then include an Excel bar chart to support the answer. To answer the question about the teams that had the highest salaries, I could list the teams that had the highest level and then include an Excel bar chart. Also, as stated in Step 1 of the project, remember that the complexity of your analysis will affect your grade and that you will need to have at least two complex analyses in order to get an A.

3) Conclusion – should have 4-6 paragraphs addressing the following questions

a. What have you learned from the data analysis?

b. How could a manager of an organization use your analysis to improve their organization?

c. What additional data would have been useful in the dataset? (For example, for the NBA salaries dataset, if more data was provided in the dataset on each player’s performance, then more useful reports could be generated to determine the performance of each player and his value to the team based on his salary)

Other Specifications:

• Writing Style: As business students, you are expected to produce a professionally-worded and structured document. Don’t use words such as me, I, and you as this is a research project, not a blog or an email.

• Plagiarism: Your website will be scanned by Blackboard for plagiarism. This is an individual research project, not a group project. The website you submit must be your words based on your research. It is fine for you to use some of the dataset questions that are on , but the data analysis and conclusions must be solely your work. Plagiarism will lead to a 0 on the research report.

Submit a Word Document to Blackboard

• First, in a Word document, type your name and the title of your research report website

• Second, type the exact web address for the first page of your research website. This is the web address I will give to everyone else in the class and must be a working website link that allows everyone to view your website.

• Third, copy the text/charts/tables from each of the three pages on your website and paste them into this document. Don’t worry about formatting the text that you just pasted in this document – the only purpose for copying and pasting your website into this document is because it will be scanned by Blackboard for plagiarism.

• Fourth, submit this document to Blackboard by the due date.

Step 3: Learn from the Data Analytics projects of other students (15 points)

- I will post the data analytics project website addresses of everyone in the class a couple days after Step 2 is due. For Step 3, you will need to choose 15 projects of others in the class. In a Word document, write the following four things about the fifteen project websites that you read:

1) Author (name of student who created the website)

2) Dataset name

3) Write one sentence on what you found to be the most interesting part of the analysis of the data

4) Write one sentence about why you either agree or disagree with one of the author’s conclusions.

Submit this file to Blackboard by the due date.

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Grading Criteria for Step 2 of the Project (75% of project grade)

____ Report Content Grade (80%)

- Is all the required information included?

- Are each of the 7 questions answered correctly?

- Are each of the 7 answers supported appropriately by either an Excel chart or summary table? Do at least 4 of the 7 answers have an Excel graphical chart (bar chart, pie chart, etc.)?

- How complex of an analysis was needed to answer the questions?

- How is the writing style? Are there grammatical problems?

- Was the project submitted on time and does the link to the website work correctly?

- Were the directions followed that are described in the project guidelines?

____Website Design (20%)

- Are there three webpages on the website?

- Are there links or tabs to easily navigate from one page to another?

- Are the webpages designed well?

- Does the design make it easy to read the material?

- Are headings used?

- Are the color schemes and fonts consistent among the web pages?

____ ( Step 2 Research Project Grade

Comments: ____________________________________________________________________

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