Course Description
This course provides an understanding of the design and use of relational databases. Topics include R, RStudio, R Markdown, and MySQL Workbench; SQL, data modeling, and HPC (high performance computing) deac cluster; (more) basics of linear models, and web scraping. The course is divided into the following sections: (1) linear models and web scraping in R and RStudio; and (2) data modeling and querying in MySQL.
The syllabus is a general plan for the course; deviations announced by the instructor may be necessary.
Objectives
Students completing this course will be able to:
- Use R and RStudio to connect to relational databases and write SQL queries
- Scrape data from the Web, and build simple linear models in R and RStudio
- Understand the basics and make use of HPC clusters
- Develop a valid data model for a business of medium level complexity
- Build and query a relational database
- Formulate complex queries
- Create and apply indexes to speed up database search
Text Book
Watson, R. (2013). Data Management: Databases and Organizations: eGreen Press. book website.
Material
Lecture slides, R/SQL code, and datasets will be available (and updated if needed) on Sakai under resources.
MySQL Workbench
WampServer 3.1.3 and MySQL Workbench v6.3.10 for data modeling and SQL execution. Macintosh owners can also use Sequel Pro for SQL execution.
Honor Code
As a Wake Forest University School of Business graduate student, you have agreed to abide by the University's “Honor Code,” built on the following four principles:
- I will not lie
- I will not cheat
- I will not steal
- I have a duty to report any honor code violation of which I am personally aware to a member of the Honor Council
All academic work must meet the standards described in the “Honor Code.” Lack of knowledge of the honor code is not a reasonable explanation for a violation. Questions related to course assignments and the honor code should be directed to the instructor.
Attendance
Attendance and participation are expected for this course. As a courtesy, you should notify the instructor if you plan to miss class for excused or unexcused absences. In the event that you miss class, you are responsible for all the material covered in class.
Team Work
In this course, you will work in groups. As a result, review a short report on team effectiveness and establish a team agreement (sample agreement). Give the instructor a copy of your team agreement contract by the end of the second week of classes. If the contract is violated by a particular team member, an e-mail describing the violation(s) must include evidence of misconduct (e.g., absence in team meetings and lack of contribution), be signed (by all other members), and sent to the instructor by Dec 9 at 11:59pm. The instructor will utilize such e-mail to adjust group project grades.
Laptop Policy
Students are welcome to use laptops in class for note taking and completing class exercises, exclusively. If you plan to take notes, please advise the instructor and email a copy of the notes at the end of the semester.
Special Accomodations
Regardless of prior experience (e.g., being a double deac or not), bring accommodations approved by the Learning Assistance Center to the instructor by the end of the second week of classes. For each time that you decide to use special accommodations, especially for exams, inform the instructor ahead of time (48 hours a priori).
If you have any questions about MSBA BAN 6020 (or R, RStudio, and MySQL in general) feel free to contact the instructor via e-mail, in-class, or at 315 Farrell Hall, 1834 Wake Forest Rd, Winston-Salem, NC 27109.