Seattle Pacific University

School of Business & Economics

ISM 6356 Data Mining Analytics and Visualization
3 Graduate Credits

Summer 2014




Catalog Description
ISM 6356: Examines the principles and practices of data mining and information visualization
including data analytics and statistical analysis. Data mining is the computational process of
discovering patterns in large data sets. Information visualization is the process of visually representing
those patterns. Students will utilize tools and techniques to analyze large data sets in order to make
sound business decisions. SPU 2014-2015 Graduate Catalog
Course Description
Welcome to THE DM/Viz class! This is course four in our series for the Data Analytics
emphasis/certificate (Statistics, Database & Data Warehousing, Knowledge Management & Business
Intelligence, and Data Mining & Visualization). In this course you will touch big data, you will
manipulate it, massage it, and make meaning out of it for better business decisions. Two major projects
will form the primary components of this course. Students will gain experience in data mining and with
visualization tools.
Course Motivation
Yes, big data is a hot topic right now, but why? Do we gather data just for datas sake to fill up loads
and loads of harddisk space? We gather large amounts of (big) data to ANALYSE it! Data Mining and
Visualization tools previously have been limited to professionals with advanced degrees in statistics and
programming, this is no longer the case. Savvy business professionals can now harness the power of
these tools and make impactful and strategic data-backed business decisions. These are the skills
necessary for todays business analysts and information managers.
2 of 5
ISM 6356 LaBrie Summer 2014
Course Objectives
As a result of successfully completing this course, the student will be able to:
Demonstrate fundamental knowledge in two important aspects of information management,
namely data mining and visualization.
Gain further understanding and experience in data mining by researching and/or using modern
data mining tools and techniques on big data sets.
Gain further understanding and experience in data visualization by researching and/or using
modern visualization tools on big data sets.
Improve both oral and written business/technical communication in physical (face-to-face) and
virtual environments.
Methodology
This course is being offered in a blended/hybrid approach with limited face-to-face time. Furthermore
this course will also take a flipped-classroom/seminar approach in which the students will actively
participate in each nights lesson our time together will be highly interactive. Because of our limited
face-to-face time we will also interact virtually through technology.

Furthermore, I am a big believer in learning by doing. As such, we will not just study data mining and
visualization, we will actually get our hands dirty and we will data mine and create visualizations.
Blackboard
SPU has adopted the Blackboard system (http://learn.spu.edu/) for web-based educational support. We
will use this system in this class.
Late Assignments and Extra Credit
All late assignments will receive an automatic penalty of -20%, regardless of how late they are. No
assignments will be accepted after Sunday, 24 August 2014, midnight. There are no options for extra
credit.
Academic Honesty
Work for this class is expected to be your own. In the case of a team project the work is expected to
only be that of the members of your team. Quotes must be footnoted and sources referenced (including
WWW references). Any student who is found guilty of academic dishonesty will receive a grade of E
for the course and will be dealt with in accordance with the academic policies put forth by this
institution.
Students with Disabilities
Students with disabilities need to contact Disabled Student Services in the Center for Learning to request
academic accommodations. Disabled Student Services sends Disability Verification Letters out to all
your professors indicating the appropriate accommodations for the classroom based on your disability.
Course Evaluation
It is my expectation that you will participate in an online evaluation of this course in a thoughtful and
constructive manner. The evaluation data is used to make improvements in the course, and your
feedback is considered when selecting textbooks, designing teaching methods, and preparing
assignments. Courses are evaluated using the Banner Course Evaluation System. All answers are
completely confidential - your name is not stored with your answers in any way. In addition, I will not
see any results of the evaluation until after final grades are submitted to the University.
3 of 5
ISM 6356 LaBrie Summer 2014

As an incentive for your participation in course evaluation I will reward participation bonus points to all
based on a percentage of class participation (remember I dont know which individuals have submitted,
as the system is anonymous). At 75% class participation I will increase your participation grade by
2.5%; at 95% class participation I will increase your participation grade by 5%.
Library Resources
The SPU library provides us with a rich collection of materials and support in our academic endeavors.
We have available to us a Library Liaison and a number of top ranked journals in the IS discipline:

Cindy Strong, Business Liaison Librarian
206-281-2074, clstrong@spu.edu, SPU Library

Partial list of IS related journals in the SPU library
Academy of Management Journal ACM Computing Surveys,
ACM Transactions on Computer Systems ACM Trans. on Database Systems
ACM Transactions on Information Systems Communications of the ACM
Journal of Data and Computer Communications IBM Systems Journal
IEEE Transactions on Communications Information Systems
Information Systems Management Telecommunications
Journal of Management Information Systems Computer (IEEE)
Journal of Systems Management MIS Quarterly
SAM Advanced Management Journal Information Systems Research
Course Grading

Data Mining Project 350
Visualization Project 350

Book Preparations/Examinations 200
Class Citizenship 100

TOTAL 1000


There is no grading curve for this course. This course is graded on a straight percentile scale. Doing a
good job meeting the requirements of each assignment will generally result in a B grade, Work that
goes above and beyond the stated requirements can receive an A grade. The scale used for this
course is shown below:

A > 940
A- > 900
B+ > 867
B > 833
B- > 800
C+ > 767
C > 733
C- > 700
D+ > 667
D > 633
E < 633



4 of 5
ISM 6356 LaBrie Summer 2014
Data Mining Project (350 points)
Length: 5-10 minute presentation (150 points), Project Write-up (200 points)
Due: 29 July
In teams of 1 or 2 students will choose a data mining tool (approved by the instructor) and find a set of
data to mine. This project is very open-ended to allow for maximum diversity of learning to occur when
we present our findings. A project write-up rubric will be provided separate from this syllabus.

Alternatively a student (individually) may write a 3000-3500 word research paper on a topic related to
data mining and business (topic to be approved by the instructor). This research paper should be of high
enough quality to submit to an IS conference or journal. APA style and formal references (12+) need to
be used. Each student will also give a 5 minute virtual presentation of their research to the rest of class
via the courses virtual environment. Note this option (the research paper) may only be chosen, at
maximum, once for this class. That is, you can choose to do two projects OR one project and one
research paper. You cannot choose to do two research papers.
Visualization Project (350 points)
Length: 5-10 minute presentation (150 points), Project Write-up (200 points)
Due: 19 August
In teams of 1 or 2 students will choose a visualization tool (approved by the instructor) and find a set of
(big) data to visualize. This project is very open-ended to allow for maximum diversity of learning to
occur when we present our findings. A project write-up rubric will be provided separate from this
syllabus.

Alternatively a student (individually) may write a 3000-3500 word research paper on a topic related to
visualization and business (topic to be approved by the instructor). This research paper should be of high
enough quality to submit to an IS conference or journal. APA style and formal references (12+) need to
be used. Each student will also give a 5 minute virtual presentation of their research to the rest of class
via the courses virtual environment. Note this option (the research paper) may only be chosen, at
maximum, once for the class. That is you can choose to do two projects OR one project and one
research paper. You cannot choose to do two research papers.
Book Preparations/Examinations (200 points)
Length: varies
Due: varies (see schedule)
Each student will be individually assigned a chapter from each of our primary text books. By the
assigned dates (20 July for Data Mining, 17 August for Visualization) each student will post virtually a
2-5 minute summary of their chapter (up to 50 points each).

Furthermore, each student will be given a reflection/exam question for each textbook in which they will
be able to articulate the key concepts they have learned from the texts (up to 50 points each).
Class Citizenship (100 points)
Length: varies
Due: varies
As this class follows more of a hybrid/seminar/flipped-classroom style approach, a significant portion of
the class is interactive and student driven. Your meaningful contributions in class and online will make
or break this course. Citizenship points will be awarded based on attendance, quality of virtual
contributions, and preparation/contributions in class. Bring your passion, your A-game, enthusiasm,
energy, and professionalism to class each time we meet!
5 of 5
ISM 6356 LaBrie Summer 2014
Course Schedule*
DATE TOPICS Class Session Content

TUESDAY
24 June

Introduction to Data Mining &
Visualization

Introductions class, content
Books Work Distribution
Projects Idea Generation


SUNDAY
20 July


Online Data Mining Chapter Review

Post your assigned DM chapter review

TUESDAY
22 July

Data Mining



DM Book Exam/Reflection
DM What have we learned
Possible DM Guess Speaker


TUESDAY
29 July

Data Mining Visualization


DM Project Presentations
Possible Visualization Guest Speaker


SUNDAY
17 August


Online Visualization Chapter Review

Post your assigned VIZ chapter review

TUESDAY
19 Aug

Visualization


Visualization What have we learned?
VIZ Project Presentations


SUNDAY
24 August

Last Minute Submissions

VIZ Book Exam/Reflection
Final submission deadline for any and all work
including any research papers


*Bolded days are our face-to-face meeting days.