Practical 3: Research in Groups

Practical 3: Research in Groups
IS5102 – Database Management Systems

34.0% of continuous assessment for the module
(MMS is the definitive source for deadline and credit details)
Summary
This is a group assignment.
You will be assigned to groups, and your group will be assigned a topic. Your task is to research the
topic as a group, and present your findings in a report.
You are expected to have read and understood all the information in this specification at least ten
days before the deadline. You must contact the lecturer regarding any queries well in advance of the
deadline.
Arrange to meet with your group members early and often. A key part of working in information
systems is to harmonise different perspectives through team work, and this practical will help to build
your skills in this area.
Purpose
The aims of this practical are to get experience in:
• database related issues, related to the module but not covered extensively in lectures;
• researching a topic to some detail;
• working as a small group;
• writing a report to present research findings at appropriate levels of detail.
Group membership
This assignment is to be done in groups. If you have any serious reasons as to why you should
NOT be in the same group as someone else please contact the Student Welfare Officers by email at
student-welfare-cs@st-andrews.ac.uk as soon as possible, and in any event before Friday 12th
November, by which time the groups are expected to start working together. If you are unable or unwilling to raise a concern before that date, you can still contact the Student Welfare Officer(s) within
one week of the groups having been announced. Note that in this case it may be much harder to make
group changes.
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Project allocation
Topic 1: Before Databases
Databases were first described by E.F. Codd in 1970, but people needed to organise data for centuries before that, for example in libraries and record offices, largely using paper records manipulated
by hand. How did some of these pre-digital data management systems work, and what were the similarities and differences compared to modern database management systems?
Topic 2: SQL Databases
Compare SQLite with several other common SQL implementations. Provide a brief comparison of
their functionality, and summarise your findings in a list of factors to consider when choosing a particular SQL implementation for a project.
Topic 3: Database Security
Database management systems are often accessed through a network, and requests may come from
anyone anywhere in the world. What security features do modern databases have to ensure data can
only be read and written by the right sources, and how do they work in practice?
Topic 4: Data Ethics
In recent decades, databases have made it much easier for corporations, governments and individuals to collect and store large amounts of information. What are the ethical concerns associated with
this data gathering, and what attempts have been made to enforce responsible data policies? How do
modern SQL databases support more ethical handling of personal data?
Topic 5: Tools for Data Analytics
Databases accumulate valuable information, which can be retrieved and processed by various tools
for different aspects of data analytics: data mining, visualisation, reproducibility, high-throughput computing, etc. Identify and compare some popular and useful tools and systems for key aspects of data
analytics, including their strengths and benefits.
Topic 6: Jobs in the Data Industry
The advent of Big Data has led to many professions starting with the word “Data”, such as e.g.“data
analyst”, “data scientist”, “data steward”, “data engineer”, “data architect”, etc. What do these roles
involve, how do they differ, and how they can help organisations large and small?
Submission
Submit a zip archive with two reports, as described more below, both of which should be in PDF format.
The first report is the group report and it should be the same for all members of a particular group. The
second report is an individual report (that is, different for every group member).
Group Report
Please present the findings of your group research as a research report. It should be properly formatted
and structured, and should go into deeper details on the material you discovered, with the context,
background and findings. As a general guide, you might want to consider using a structure addressing
the following points:
• Context; the problem being solved
• Background on alternative approaches
• Current open questions and/or key issues to consider
• Recommendations and/or conclusions
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Feel free to illustrate your arguments with examples, tables, diagrams, or plots. You should assume
that the report is intended for the audience consisting of the students currently taking IS5102 module.
The report should have a title page stating the module code, the group number, the title of the
reported topic, matriculation numbers of all participants of the group.
Each section or subsection of the report should have a named individual lead author (indicated by the
matriculation number in the title of the section/subsection), who takes responsibility for coordinating
contributions from other group members to its content, editing the final version of the text, and ensuring
that it complies with Good Academic Practice. It is expected that each member of the group stands
behind the report, and is capable of answering high or medium level questions on any part of the
report.
The report should be written in a formal third person style, and be carefully proofread to ensure that
it uses correct grammar and spelling. It should contain properly formatted bibliography (for example,
using IEEE1 or APA2
styles), listing the sources of information on which your report draws (including
software citations, where applicable).
The advisory word limit for the group report is 6000 words, excluding the title page and the bibliography.
Again, you are expected to work on this task as a group, and all members of the group should
submit the same PDF file for the group report.
Individual Report
Each student must also submit an individual report, describing their contributions to the group work
and reflecting on their experience. The individual report should cover the following questions:
• which (sub-)topic did you research?
• to which parts of the group report did you contribute, and how?
• how did you organise your own work?
• how the collaborative work was organised?
• what did you feel went well, in your own work, as well as in the group work?
• what did you find challenging?
• what problems did you encounter, if any, and how did you try to resolve those?
• what would you do differently, if anything?
and should contain any other relevant information. The advisory word limit for the individual report
is 1000 words.
Marking
The marking of this assignment will be based on the quality of research done; on the quality of presenting your research in the report; and on its suitability for the intended audience, assumed to comprise of
students taking IS5102 module.
It is expected that all students in the same group will receive the same grade for their group report.
Individual grades will be determined based on the individual report. If there are unresolved problems
with teamwork within a group, these should be identified in the individual reports. After careful consideration, individual grades may be further amended to take such problems into account. Of course,
it is in everybody’s interests to flag up issues or problems early with the lecturer.
The final grade for this assignment will be determined as follows:
• 75% for the group report;
• 25% for the individual report.
1http://www.ieee.org/documents/ieeecitationref.pdf
2https://libguides.st-andrews.ac.uk/Referencing_styles/APA/7th
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Policies and Guidelines
Marking
See also the standard mark descriptors in the School Student Handbook, which apply as usual:
https://info.cs.st-andrews.ac.uk/student-handbook/learning-teaching/feedback.
html#Mark_Descriptors
Lateness
The standard penalty for late submission applies (Scheme B: 1 mark per 8 hour period, or part thereof):
https://info.cs.st-andrews.ac.uk/student-handbook/learning-teaching/assessment.
html#Lateness_Penalties
Good Academic Practice
The University policy on Good Academic Practice applies:
https://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/students/rules/academicpractice/
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