PUBA 601:
"Public Data Analysis"

(Spring, 2010)

Meetings:   Mondays 6:00 - 8:30 (weekly schedule may change)
Note:  This course is available by permission only!

Instructor:   Mark E. Tompkins Office:    328 Gambrell Hall, USC -- Columbia
Phone:    777-4312 (an answering machine is available)
E-mail:    tompkins.mark@sc.edu
Office Hours: 
 Monday (9:00 - 10:30);  Tuesday (2:30 - 4:30);  Friday (9:00 - 10:30)
On-line office hours and help sessions.
I will be available by e-mail and other forms of messaging
for assistance with homework assignments
(but e-mail is preferred;  I have many demands on my time this semester and e-mail allows me to respond fully, but in a timely, but complete way)
Also available by appointment.
 
Thou shalt not answer questionnaires
Or quizzes upon World-Affairs,
Nor with compliance
Take any test. Thou shalt not sit
With statisticians nor commit
A social science.

W.H. Auden, "Under Which Lyre:
A Reactionary Tract for the Times"

Course Objectives:  
This course is designed to introduce students to the use of data and technology in public administraton and management and public policy.   While it will not necessarily prepare you to work with data by yourself, it should prepare you to be an "informed consumer" of the use and misuse of data and technology, and it should provide you with an overview of many of the tools that you would use in work in public administration.

More specifically, students will:
  • Develop a critical understanding of data gathering processes and technologies in the administration of public and non-profit organizations.
  • Understand the application and use of contemporary information technologies (including databases, geographic information systems, spreadsheets, and web page construction).
  • Understand the application of these technologies to problems in contemporary public administration.
  • Understand and critically assess the use of these technologies in public administration.
 
Description of 
Course Conduct: 		This course is designed around "active learning".   Many classes will incorporate a brief introduction of material, followed by class activities designed to provide experience with techniques and tools for using data and technology in public administration and management, and in public policy.   (A few classes will incorporate lectures covering ideas and concepts.)   Participants will then be expected to complete homework assignments providing experience, illustrations, and extensions of the class material.
The course is organized in a series of modules -- some of these modules are cumulative, while others present discrete topics.   Nonetheless, it is crucially important that participants stay current with the material as it is presented.

I will be available to you outside of class for assistance and consultation -- you should contact me as soon as you recognize problems, since we can limit frustration and manage the workload most effectively when we act proactively.
 
Evaluation
of Student
Performance: 		There are two threads to the evaluation of student performance in this course.
 Much of the homework material requires "mastery" -- for this material,  which will be designated in advance, you will be asked to demonstrate your understanding and capability.   If your initial work does not reach this level, you will be asked to resubmit it until you have achieved the requisite level of achievement.   (Your grade on the assignment will reflect your initial submission and it may reflect any delays in completing the work, but when noted, you must complete the material successfully to pass the course).   These assignments will be graded on the following scale:    "Exceeds Expectations," "Meets Expectations," or "Does Not Meet Expectations."
The remaining material will be evaluated in a more conventional fashion.   You will be assigned numerial scores and the average of these grades will determine your final grade in the course (assuming that you have met the "mastery" criterion).   Note that the points will not be assigned according to a specific grade -- rather the distribution of points will be used in assigning the grades.
A tentative assessment of each student's performance will be reported before the first quizz, after the first quiz, and before the final examination.
There will be two quizzes, and a series of homework assignments.
Each quiz will be worth 20% of your total grade for 40% of the total grade.
Homework assignments will be worth 60% of your total grade,
with points apportioned as noted on the assignment (where "Meets Expectations" is "B/A" level work, etc.).
Please note that grades will reflect an overall assessment of student performance as reflected in the assigned grades (weighted as noted), but that particular numeric scores are not associated with a specific grade.  You will receive periodic assessments of your performance up to that point in the course, however.
 
Course Resources: You will not be asked to purchase a course text.   You should, in addition, have the following technology resources available. 
  • A personal computer, with a functioning connection to the internet, a web browser installed (in a relatively current release, with Java and Flash functionality established), as well as reliable e-mail support.   (For your own protection, you should have appropriate virus protection installed as well;   you should know what virus protection, firewall hardware and software, and spyware protection your computer is running as well, since the diagnosis of problems that you are having may require us to explore the role these utilities are playing in your situation.)
    • Your p.c. should also have functioning copies of Microsoft's Word, Excel, and Access programs installed., with current patches applied.
    • Some course activities are housed on the Internet;   you should expect to do some of your work in a setting where you have an active connection.
 
Link to Course Assignments


  Please 
  Note:		 In class:   cell phones, pagers and other devices should be silenced.  
       You should avoid other activities that disrupt the class (eating, phone calls, etc.)
  You are expected to monitor the class schedule, which will be maintained on this public web site.
       You are responsible for anything posted once it has been available for seven days. 
 Assignments are due at the date and time noted.
      The only exceptions involve a prior, explicit agreement made with me. 
       If emergencies arise, they should be brought to my attention as soon as possible. 
        I reserve the right to penalize late material as I find appropriate.  
  Students are expected to do their own work;  
       Plagiarism is unacceptable and will be penalized as I find appropriate.
  Your  conduct should, in general, be governed by the College's  Honor Code and
       the Student Code of Conduct.    These are found in the  Student Handbook (available here).
Document URL:  http://people.cas.sc.edu/tompkins/Spring2009/PS771.PUBA601/Syllabus.html
Published on December 30, 2010.
Maintained by Professor Tompkins; 
Contact Professor Tompkins by e-mail at:   tompkins.mark@sc.edu.
© Copyrighted 2010. All Rights Reserved.