CSC 586E: Topics in Computer Systems and Software: "Data Mining"

Term

Spring 2012

Course Website

https://connex.csc.uvic.ca

Instructor

Alex Thomo
Email: thomo at uvic.ca
Office: ECS 556 Phone Number: (250)472-5786
Office Hours: WF 11:30 - 12:30 p.m.

Lecture Schedule

(A01)   TR    4:30 pm - 5:50 p.m.    ECS 104

Laboratory Schedule

Labs begin the week of January 09, 2012. Please attend the lab you have registered for.

Course Overview

This course is an introduction to Data Mining, a relatively new field of CS, which is about discovering patterns from often large data sets. Topics include classification, association discovery, clustering, and web mining.

Textbooks

Required:	Introduction to Data Mining (First Edition)
	Pang-Ning Tan, Michael Steinbach, Vipin Kumar
	Addison Wesley (2005) , ISBN: 0321321367

Additional research papers will be provided.

Course Objectives And Learning Outcomes

There is an explosive growth in data collected from applications including business and management, government administration, science and engineering, and environmental control. The objective of this course is to present the data mining technology, which makes possible the discovery of interesting patterns from large amounts of data.

The students will be able to understand and sensibly use state-of-the-art Data Mining algorithms and tools, evaluate their results, and apply knowledge extracted from data to diverse real-life problems. The labs will reinforce the material taught in the lectures and provide guidance for experimenting with various Data Mining tools.

The graduate students will also be able to apply Data Mining methods and techniques in their research topic.

Topics

Association Analysis
Clustering
Classification
Data exploration and Visualization
Applications

Assignments

In this course there will be 3 assignments. Each assignment is worth 5% for a total of 15%.

There will be one course project, worth 15% due the last week of classes. The project will be marked on a written report and a class presentation.

A provisional schedule appears below.

Assignment Schedule

Assignment	Weight	Assigned Date	Due Date
1	5%	3rd week	5th week
2	5%	7th week	9th week
3	5%	11th week	12th week
Term Paper	10%	7th week	12th week
Course Project	15%	5th week	12th week

Exams

There will be a midterm and a final exam. The midterm exam, worth 20% is on the 7th week. The final exam, worth 40% will be scheduled by the University.

For courses which have final exams, students are strongly advised not to make final plans for travel or employment during the exam period since special arrangements will not be made for examinations that may conflict with such plans.

Grading

Coursework	Weight (out of 100%)
Assignments	15%
Term Paper	10%
Course Project	15%
Midterm Exam	20%
Final Exam	40%

Grades	Description
A+	Exceptional work. Technically flawless and original work demonstrating insight, understanding and independent application or extension of course expectations; often publishable.
A	Outstanding work. Demonstrates a very high level of integration of material demonstrating insight, understanding and independent application or extension of course expectations.
A-	Excellent work. Represents a high level of integration, comprehensiveness and complexity, as well as a mastery level of relevant techniques/concepts..
B+	Very good work. Represents a satisfactory level of integration, comprehensiveness and complexity; demonstrates a sound level of analysis with no major weakness.
B	Acceptable work that fulfills the expectations of the course. Represents a satisfactory level of integration of key concepts/procedures. However, comprehensiveness or technical skills may be lacking.
B-, C+, C, D	Unacceptable work revealing some deficiencies in knowledge, understanding or techniques. Represents an unacceptable level of integration, comprehensiveness and complexity. Mastery of some relevant techniques or concepts lacking.
F	Failing grade. Unsatisfactory performance. Wrote final examination and competed course requirements.

Final Grades are obtained by converting the numerical scores using the conversion table below. Dividing lines between letter grades may be adjusted by a maximum of 3% to account for natural breaks in the numeric scores.

F	D	C	C+	B-	B	B+	A-	A	A+
0-49	50-54	55-59	60-64	65-69	70-74	75-79	80-84	85-89	90-100

Posting Of Grades

Term marks, provisional final grades and final grades will be posted by student number. NO NAME WILL APPEAR. These postings are for your information and for your validation of the data entry. If you do not wish your term marks and grades to be publicly posted in this manner, please notify the course instructor by e-mail no later than January 23, 2012.

Csc Student Groups

The Computer Science Course Union (http://cscu.csc.uvic.ca/mediawiki/index.php/) serves all students who are either in a computer science program or taking a class in computer science. Please sign yourself up on their mailing list if you would like to be informed about their social events and services.

The Engineering Students' Society (ESS) serves all students registered in an Engineering degree program, including Software Engineering (BSEng). For information on ESS activities, events and services navigate to http://www.engr.uvic.ca/~ess .

Course Policies And Guidelines

Late Assignments: No late assignments will be accepted unless prior arrangements have been made with the instructor at least 48 hours before the assignment due date.
Coursework Mark Appeals: All marks must be appealed within 7 days of the mark being posted.
Attendance: We expect students attend all lectures and labs. It is entirely the students' responsibility to recover any information or announcements presented in lectures from which they were absent.
Electronic Devices: No unauthorized audio or video recording of lectures is permitted.
Calculators are only permitted for examinations and tests if explicitly authorized and the type of calculator permitted may be restricted. No other electronic devices (e.g. cell phones, pagers, PDA, etc.) may be used during examinations or tests unless explicitly authorized.
Plagiarism: Submitted work may be checked using plagiarism detection software. Cheating, plagiarism and other forms of academic fraud are taken very seriously by both the University and the Department. You should consult http://web.uvic.ca/calendar/FACS/UnIn/UARe/PoAcI.html for the UVic policy on academic integrity. Note that the university policy includes the statement that "A largely or fully plagiarized assignment should result in a grade of F for the course".

The Faculty of Engineering Standards for Professional Behaviour is at http://www.uvic.ca/shared/shared%5fengineering/docs/professional-behaviour.pdf

The department guidelines concerning fraud are at http://www.csc.uvic.ca/courseinfo/policies/fraud.html

Department Policies: A list of department policies regarding all courses may be found at http://www.csc.uvic.ca/courseinfo/policies/index.html

This course aims to provide equal opportunities and access for all students to enjoy the benefits and privileges of the class and its curriculum and to meet the syllabus requirements. Reasonable and appropriate accommodation will be made available to students with documented disabilities (physical, mental, learning) in order to give them the opportunity to successfully meet the essential requirements of the course. The accommodation will not alter academic standards or learning outcomes, although the student may be allowed to demonstrate knowledge and skills in a different way. It is not necessary for you to reveal your disability and/or confidential medical information to the course instructor. If you believe that you may require accommodation, the course instructor can provide you with information about confidential resources on campus that can assist you in arranging for appropriate accommodation. Alternatively, you may want to contact the Resource Centre for Students with a Disability located in the Campus Services Building.

The University of Victoria is committed to promoting, providing, and protecting a positive, and supportive and safe learning and working environment for all its members.