Business Analytics – MIS171
Trimester 1 2019
Assignment 1
DUE DATE AND TIME: Due by 11:59 pm AEST Monday 1 April 2019 PERCENTAGE OF FINAL GRADE: 20% of final grade
Learning Outcome Details
Unit Learning Outcome (ULO) Graduate Learning Outcome (GLO)
ULO 2: Apply quantitative reasoning skills to analyse business performance.
This assignment assesses the ability to use the appropriate technique to analyse the data, correctly interpret the analysis output and draw appropriate conclusions. GLO4: Critical thinking: evaluating information using critical and analytical thinking and judgment
ULO 3: Create data-driven / fact-based solutions to complex business scenarios GLO 5: Problem Solving: creating solutions to authentic (real world and ill define) problems.
ULO 4: Use contemporary data analysis tools to analyse business performance.
This assignment assesses proficiency in the use of data analysis tools within Microsoft Excel (one of the most widely used data analysis tools). GLO 1: Discipline-specific knowledge and capabilities: appropriate to the level of study related to a discipline or profession.
Assessment Feedback:
Students who submit their work by the due date will receive their marks and feedback by 11:59 pm AEST Monday 22 April 2019.
General Description / Requirements
The assignment requires that you analyse a data set, interpret, and draw conclusions from your analysis, and then convey your conclusions in a written email. The assignment must be completed individually. The assignment must be submitted by the due date electronically in CloudDeakin. When submitting electronically, you must check that you have submitted the file correctly by following the instructions provided in CloudDeakin. Please note that we will NOT accept any hard copies or assignments submitted via email.
The assignment uses the file MIS171_StudentID.xlsx which you have received in your student email account. This file is released on Monday 18th March 2019. Analysis of the data requires the use of techniques studied in Topics 1 to 3.
Once you start working on the file you may save and go back as many times as you like; there is no need to complete it all in one go. Not following the instructions in this document may result in a delay in the release of your results and a penalty of marks deducted.
Scenario
Aussie University is an Australian university that offers various courses such as the Bachelor of Commerce. To complete the Bachelor of Commerce students must attain 24 credit points including 8 credit points of core units. Claudia Brady is the Associate Dean, Teaching and Learning at the Aussie Business School. She has asked you, Sam Mannix, to conduct exploratory and descriptive analysis to gain a better understanding of the performance of the Bachelor of Commerce students. You can see her email on the next page.
Email from the Associate Dean, Teaching and Learning
To: Sam Mannix
From: Claudia Brady
Subject: Analysis of the Bachelor of Commerce core units data
Dear Sam,
The academic board is keen to understand the student cohort, how students have performed, and if their performance is related to their activities (e.g., attendance), to ensure we are on the right track regarding our strategic goals.
As a result, can you investigate the following?
1. Average core score is the most important measure that the board is interested in. Can you provide me with an overall summary of the average student score for the 8 core units?
2. The board believes that performance in core unit 4 (Business Analytics) does not differ between genders. Can you provide a comparison of the core unit 4 scores across different genders?
3. The board wants to find out whether the proportion of students origin differs between different genders. Can you provide some insights?
4. Some of the board members believe that the number of attendances influences student grades. Can you investigate if there is a relationship between the total number of attendances and core unit 4 grades?
5. The board also wants to know if there is a relationship between the total number of attendances and core unit 4 scores. Can you provide some information?
Finally, I would also like an interactive Dashboard to explore the performance of our students. I am particularly interested in exploring the average core scores and core unit 4 scores from different dimensions. I will leave the design details to you.
I look forward to your response and the Dashboard.
Sincerely,
Claudia Brady
Associate Dean, Teaching and Learning
Data set:
Many parts of the Excel file are protected from editing and you will only be able to start after you confirm your student ID and student Username. The file includes 9 sheets.
Sheet 1: Assignment Information
This sheet provides information about the variables used in this assignment. Please ensure your student ID is entered correctly otherwise all received data, and thus answers, will not correspond to your set of allocated data.
Sheet 2: Your Data
This sheet includes the data set that you are asked to analyse.
Sheet 3 to 7: Q1 to Q5
Use Q1 to Q5 sheets to perform the relevant analyses. When calculating any figures please include at least 2 decimal points. Please note, these sheets are not marked.
Sheet 8: Results
Use the Results sheet to report your answers. You are only able to edit/input coloured cells in this sheet. All answers should be in the number format, except for Question 4, Part1 which is a drop down list. If you put text or any information other than numbers, you get no marks for that part.
Sheet 9: Dashboard
Use Dashboard sheet to create your interactive dashboard.
Assignment instructions
The assignment consists of three parts:
Part 1: Data Analysis
When conducting the analysis, you will apply techniques from descriptive analytics and visualisations; hence you will use various tables, graphs, and summary measures. Sometimes we refer to this type of analysis as “exploratory analysis”. When exploring data, we often produce more results than we eventually use in the final report, but by investigating the data from a number of angles, we can develop a much better ‘feel’ for the data: a deeper understanding of the data.
In order to prepare a reply to Claudia, you will need to examine and analyse the data set thoroughly.
The following guidelines for each question should be considered carefully:
1. A summary of average scores: To answer this question you should firstly calculate the average student scores for the 8 core units and then analyse them. You should derive summary measures and check for unusual data along with producing any suitable graphs and tables.
2. Core unit 4 score by gender: Investigate any particular relationship(s) between core unit 4 scores and gender.
3. Origin by gender: Explore any particular relationship between student origin and gender.
4. Core unit 4 grade by attendance rate: Research any particular relationship between student grades in core unit 4 and their attendance rate in lectures and seminars. You need to convert core unit 4 scores to grades and total number of attendances in lectures and tutorials into three rates.
Grade Description Meaning
HD High Distinction 80% and over
D Distinction 70 - 79%
C Credit 60 - 69%
P Pass 50 - 59%
N Fail below 50%
Attendance rate Description Meaning
High High attendance rate More than or equal to 17 attendances
Average Average attendance rate More than or equal to 8 and less than 17 attendances
Low Low attendance rate Less than 8 attendances
5. Core unit 4 score by total attendance: Research any particular relationship between student scores in core unit 4 and their total number of attendances.
The analysis you submit should be on the provided 5 sheets (Q1 to Q5). Where possible, it is always useful to produce both numerical and graphical statistical summaries as sometimes, something is revealed in one that is not obvious in the other. Poorly presented, unorganised analysis or excessive output will be penalised.
It is usual, when writing any professional document, to caption any tabular or graphical output professionally. For example, TABLE 1: Summary statistics for the variable Average Core Score.
Part 2: Email
You are required to reply by email, detailing essential information and conclusions from your data analysis. You are allowed no more than 2 pages to convey your written conclusions. Remember you should use font size 12 and leave a margin of 2.54 cm.
Keep the English simple and the explanations succinct. Avoid the use of technical statistical jargon. Your reader will not necessarily understand even simple statistical terms, thus your task is to convert your analysis into plain, simple, easy to understand language.
The email is to be written as a stand-alone document (assume that the Claudia Brady will only read your email). Thus, you should not have any references in the email to your analysis, nor should you include any charts and tables within it.
Use an email format for your reply. This means the email heading (e.g., To:, From:, Subject:) should be included, the recipient should be addressed at the beginning and the signature or name of the sender should be included at the end.
When composing your reply, make sure that you actually answer the questions asked. Cite (state)the summary statistics of importance (without referring to your analysis section). Sequentially number your answers in your email to match the email of the Associate Dean, Teaching and Learning. Include a simple introduction at the start of the email and a summary/conclusion at the end.
Marks will be deducted for the use of technical terms, irrelevant material, poor presentation /organisation/formatting and emails that are over two pages long.
When you have completed the email, it is a useful exercise to leave it for a day, return to it and reread it as if you knew nothing about the analysis. Does it flow easily? Does it make sense? Can someone without prior knowledge follow your written conclusions? Often on re-reading, you become aware that you have made some points in a clumsy manner and find that you can re-phrase them much more clearly.
Part 3: Interactive Dashboard
The minimum requirement is a neat, functional, interactive dashboard. It is expected that the dashboard includes up to 4 interactive components.
The following questions will guide you in designing an interactive dashboard.
1. What are the most appropriate visualisations for the dashboard?
2. What about the choices of colour?
3. How can I make the dashboard interactive?
Submission Instructions
Your submission will comprise of two files: one Microsoft Word file (Part 2: Email) and one Microsoft Excel file (Part 1: Analysis and Part 3: Dashboard). This assessment is to be submitted ONLINE ONLY into the Assessment 1 Dropbox available on the MIS171 Cloud Deakin site.
Please do not rename the Excel file after you download it. The word file should have the same file name as the Excel file (MIS171_StudentID.doc or .docx). You must keep a backup copy of every assignment you submit until the marked assignment has been returned to you. In the unlikely event that one of your assignments is misplaced, you will need to submit your backup copy.
All work you submit is checked by electronic or other means for the purposes of detecting collusion and/or plagiarism.
When you are required to submit an assignment through your CloudDeakin unit site, you will receive an email to your Deakin email address confirming that it has been submitted. You should check that you can see your assignment in the Submissions view of the Assignment Dropbox folder after upload, and check for, and keep, the email receipt for the submission.
Notes
• Penalties for late submission: The following marking penalties will apply if you submit an assessment task after the due date without an approved extension: 5% will be deducted from available marks for each day up to five days, and work that is submitted more than five days after the due date will not be marked. You will receive 0% for the task. 'Day' means working day for paper submissions and calendar day for electronic submissions. The Unit Chair may refuse to accept a late submission where it is unreasonable or impracticable to assess the task after the due date.
• For more information about academic misconduct, special consideration, extensions, and assessment feedback, please refer to the document “Your rights and responsibilities as a student in this Unit” in the first folder next to the Unit Guide of the Resources area in the CloudDeakin unit site.
• Requests for Extensions: Extensions can be granted for unexpected circumstances such as serious illness or for compassionate reasons under special circumstances. Extensions can only be approved by the Unit Chair (Reza Kachouie). Please email your request to (reza.kachouie@deakin.edu.au) before the due date. When requesting an extension, you need to provide evidence to support your request and a draft (both Excel and Word files) of the work completed to date. Where an extension is approved you will be given between 1 day and 2 weeks to submit your work. For requests after the due date please submit your request to Special Consideration at
https://www.deakin.edu.au/students/studying/assessment-and-results/specialconsideration. Work or holidays or other assignments are NOT grounds for an extension; you are expected to manage these issues as part of your studies. You are strongly encouraged to start early and to continually backup your assignment as you progress. Computer crashes or corrupted files will NOT be accepted as valid reasons for an extension of any length.
• Building evidence of your experiences, skills, and knowledge (Portfolio) - Building a portfolio that evidences your skills, knowledge and experience will provide you with a valuable tool to help you prepare for interviews and to showcase to potential employers. There are a number of tools that you can use to build a portfolio. You are provided with cloud space through OneDrive, or through the Portfolio tool in the Cloud Unit Site, but you can use any storage repository system that you like. Remember that a Portfolio is your tool. You should be able to store your assessment work, reflections, achievements and artefacts in your Portfolio. Once you have completed this assessment piece, add it to your personal Portfolio to use and showcase your learning later, when applying for jobs, or further studies. Curate your work by adding meaningful tags to your artefacts that describe what the artefact represents.
Good luck everyone.
Please don’t hesitate to ask questions if you have them.
All the best,
The Unit Team