What do students need to do in EMR19?

Project Sets (40% of final grade; four at 10% each)

Each project set will require the students to either use an existing data set, or acquire his or her own, in order to produce a table, graph, chart, illustration, web page, presentation or some combination thereof. Basic algebraic, geometric and/or statistical calculations will be needed in preparing the data for display. It is assumed that all students have access to spreadsheet software (e.g. Excel, Numbers, Google Docs), but software beyond spreadsheets (e.g. Igor, plotly) will also be provided and explained for the Project Sets. Students are encouraged to discuss the Project Sets in groups, but each student must turn in only his or her own work — not collaborative solutions. Exemplary student Project Sets will be selected and posted by the Teaching Fellows on the course web site. All Project Sets will be due, online or in-person, at the start of the lecture on the day they are due. Late project sets will not be accepted without prior authorization from a TF.

Online Graphics and Section Participation (10% for submissions plus 10% for in-section participation)

The course will meet twice per week in a lecture setting, and once per week in a small group setting, typically known as “section.” The purpose of the sectionkmeetings will not be primarily for review, but instead to give students and TFs the opportunity to delve into more real-life examples of the graphical principles discussed in lecture. Students will be asked to contribute (via an online tool) sample graphics (from any source) to be discussed in section each week. Several sections will be subject-matter- or technique-themed, as shown on the schedule, below.

Final Project & Presentation (20% for presentation + 20% for documentation)

Each student, in consultation with a TF and/or Prof. Goodman, will formally propose a research topic on or before February 27. A draft topic idea will be submitted on 2/20, and sections the following week will be focused on students collaboratively improving each other's proposals. As long as the topic lends itself well to graphical quantitative examination and display, it does not matter what the subject matter is. In the past, topics have ranged from Shakespeare concordances to poker odds to war deaths to sailing and navigation practices. Example topics will be discussed in section, and 1-page progress reports will be due on March 13 and April 1 (no fooling!).

The projects will first be presented in a live 8-minute presentation by each student in section, and the best presentation(s) from each section will be repeated in a "Fair" format on 4/24. Then, one week after the last meeting of EMR19, each student will submit documentation of their project. Details on allowable formats (which include a standard “paper,” movies, interactives or web sites) will be discussed in class and in section during April.

View the schedule of topics and events or 2012 sample assignments