Reading about Data Analytics

Assigned : Monday 23 January 2023

Due : Monday 30 January 2023

The main goals of this work include the following.

• To learn how to install and use git and some github resources to submit homework.
• To read an article in which analytics was completed to help the reader to understand a perspective.
• To find two (2) similar articles from the scientific literature which use analytics in a similar way to help explain a perspective to the reader.

Practicing software developers normally use a version control system to manage most of the artifacts produced during the phases of the software development life cycle.

In this course, we will always use the git distributed version control system to manage the files associated with our course. In particular, we will use this secure resource to submit our all our assignments and projects.

To help you get started with installing course software, our course resources page, contains URL links to download sites and important tutorials.

Note, if you are using a Mac or Linux machine, you may already have this software installed; try typing git at your terminal to check. On a MacOS machine, this command will ask you whether you wish to install xCode. Please follow the steps to install.

If you are using a Windows machine then it is likely that you will need to install the software. Ask a Technical Leader or your instructor for help as necessary.

It is assumed that you already have an account on GitHub but if you do not, then please visit github.com to create your account using your Allegheny email address. Follow the account generation links to create an account on GitHub using a normal name (to identify you) and be sure to add a current photo of yourself when completing your profile.

SSH keys allow you to interact with GitHub using secure means. Using these keys, you can conveniently push and pull data from GitHub without having to input your user name and password each time. When developing code, it will be desirable to make frequent pushes to GitHub with your code so that any problems or bugs, can be isolated with the development of specific parts of code.

To learn more about creating and adding your ssh keys to your GitHub account. Please visit https://www.ssh.com/ssh/keygen/ to learn how to set-up your security keys. Let the instructor know if you have any questions with this task. For more information about ssh keys, please watch Professor Luman’s SSH Key video.

As you are working on your lab, you are to commit and push regularly. The commands are the following.

git add -A
git commit -m ‘‘Your notes about commit here’’ 
git push

Please note, do not place unnecessary files in your submission directory -- all files in your working repository will be uploaded to the cloud. Submit only what is being requested.

Please locate the article; (Twelve Million Phones, One Dataset, Zero Privacy, By Stuart A. Thompson and Charlie Warzel, which is available at the link.

In the article, location data, extracted from smartphones, is described as being used to track the whereabouts of seemingly any person who has a smartphone. Please read the article to learn more about this topic and to prepare yourself to respond to the reflection questions of your lab.

You are to respond to questions after you have read the above article by Thompson and Warzel.

No one-liners; please write your responses in clear and meaningful language in your reflection document (i.e., writing/reflection.md). Your writing for the questions will comprise about 300 to 350 words.

For your deliverable, you are asked to find two (2) recent articles which discuss the analysis of data. In these selected articles, you are to argue that some form of ethical violation occurred due to a lack of responsible oversight.

Your reflection document has fields to complete concerning your articles.

• Complete the reflections.md text file in markdown with your thoughts on the reading, in addition to the two researched articles.

For immediate feedback on submissions, we will be using Gator Grade to inform the of missing components in the submission. As you submit, you will notice that there is a thick red X that will change to a green check mark when all components have been included in the submission. You are encouraged to click on the red X to find a listing of the components to address.

The grade that a student receives on this assignment will have the following components.

• GitHub Actions CI Build Status [up to 50%]:: For the lab01 repository associated with this assignment students will receive a checkmark grade if their last before-the-deadline build passes. This is only checking some baseline writing and commit requirements as well as correct running of the program. An additional reduction will given if the commit log shows a cluster of commits at the end clearly used just to pass this requirement. An addition reduction will also be given if there is no commit during lab work times. All other requirements are evaluated manually.

• Mastery of Technical Writing [up to 50%]:: Students will also receive a checkmark grade when the responses to the writing questions presented in the reflection.md reveal a proficiency of both writing skills and technical knowledge. To receive a checkmark grade, the submitted writing should have correct spelling, grammar, and punctuation in addition to following the rules of Markdown and providing conceptually and technically accurate answers.

You can check the baseline writing and commit requirements for this lab assignment by running department's assignment checking gatorgrade tool. To use gatorgrade, you first need to make sure you have Python3 installed (type python --version to check). If you do not have Python installed, please see:

• Setting Up Python on Windows
• Python 3 Installation and Setup Guide
• How to Install Python 3 and Set Up a Local Programming Environment on Windows 10

Then, if you have not done so already, you need to install gatorgrade:

• First, install pipx
• Then, install gatorgrade with pipx install gatorgrade

Finally, you can run gatorgrade:

gatorgrade --config config/gatorgrade.yml

• Extra resources for using markdown include;
  • Markdown Tidbits
  • Markdown Cheatsheet
• Do not forget to use the above git commands to push your work to the cloud for the instructor to grade your assignment. You can go to your GitHub repository using your browser to verify that your files have been submitted. Please see the TL’s or the instructor if you have any questions about assignment submission.

Students who have questions about this project outside of the lab time are invited to ask them in the course's Discord channel or during instructor's or TL's office hours.