Syllabus

Schedule

Course learning modules are divided into weeks. Each week starts on Wednesday at 12:00 am Eastern Time (ET) and closes on Wednesday at 11:59 pm ET, with the exception of Week 8, which ends on Sunday. All assignments must be submitted by 11:59 pm ET on the due date.

Course Schedule at a Glance

Learning Modules	Topics	Assignments and Due Dates
Week 1 6/24 – 7/1	What is Data Visualization?	Introductory Discussion Discussion – Initial post by Sunday, responses by Wednesday Four Short Assignments  due Wednesday
Week 2 7/1 – 7/8	Understanding Briefs and Creating Simple Charts	Discussion – Initial post by Sunday, responses by Wednesday Three Short Assignments due Wednesday
Week 3 7/8 – 7/15	How do we Know the Data is Good?	Discussion -Initial post by Sunday, responses by Wednesday Three Short Assignments due Wednesday
Week 4 7/15 – 7/22	Making the Data Usable	Discussion – Initial post by Sunday, responses by Wednesday Five Short Assignments due Wednesday
Week 5 7/22 – 7/29	Explanatory Visualizations	Discussion – Initial post by Sunday, responses by Wednesday Key Assessment 1: Explanatory Visualization Presentation due Wednesday
Week 6 7/29 – 8/5	Principles of Good Visualizations	Discussion – Initial post by Sunday, responses by Wednesday Create a Dashboard Assignment due Wednesday
Week 7 8/5 – 8/12	Exploratory Dashboards	Discussion – Initial post by Sunday, responses by Wednesday Key Assessment 2: Exploratory Interactive Dashboard due Wednesday
Week 8 8/12 – 8/16	Network Mapping	Discussion – Initial post by Friday, responses by Sunday Network Mapping Assignment due Sunday

Weekly Course Schedule

WEEK 1 — What is Data Visualization?

Learning Outcomes:

• Explore what makes a good visualization
• Create simple visualizations with Excel and Tableau
• Critique a visualization

Course Materials:

Kirk Textbook

• Chapter 1 – Defining Data Visualisation
• Chapter 2 – The Visualisation Design Process

Forum One Communications. (2014, February 11). Worth a Thousand Words: How to Display Health Data. Retrieved from https://www.chcf.org/publication/worth-a-thousand-words-how-to-display-health-data/

Video:

Harvard Business Review. (2016, May 19). Designing Persuasive Charts [Video File]. Retrieved from https://hbr.org/video/4901986396001/designing-persuasive-charts

Tableau Tutorials:

• Tableau Interface – 4-minute overview. 
• Getting Started With Tableau – 25-minute tutorial. 

Tableau Help Page (to be used for reference, as needed):

• Online Help for Tableau

Assignments:

Introductory Discussion

Discussion Question, Data Visualization Critique: In this discussion you will critique a visualization. From the document link provided in Blackboard, please select one of the visualizations; (all the visualizations were created based on recent data on malaria). To make sure that each of you picks a different visualization, put your name on the google doc next to the visualization you have chosen. Make sure you put your name on the document before you start working on your post. Please don’t erase anyone’s name who has already chosen a visualization. Your critique should include answers to the following:

• • Who is the visualization for (who is the intended audience)?
  • What is the visualization trying to communicate (i.e. what is the goal)?
  • What aspects of the visualization allowed it to reach the goal?
  • Where did the visualization fall short?
  • If the visualization is interactive, did the interactivity support the goal of the visualization?

Week 1 Assignments: You will set up several tools that you will use throughout the course and submit a screenshot. See Blackboard for details.

WEEK 2 — Understanding Briefs and Creating Simple Charts

Learning Outcomes:

• Explore basic chart types
• Build three basic chart types — bars, lines, text tables — in both Excel and Tableau

Course Materials:

Kirk Textbook

• Chapter 3: Formulating Your Brief (In the US a “brief” is called a “use case”)
• Chapter 5: Establishing your Editorial Thinking
• Chapter 6: Just these sections starting on page numbers listed: Intro p. 135, Bar Charts p. 140, 141, and Line Charts p. 171. You will read the full chapter later.

Videos:

RichReport. (2014, March 23). The Zen of Visual Analysis [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QfmVoFcZJM0

Nussbaumer, C. (2016, September 21). Do you see it? The power of CONTRAST [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=60KiAXbkrl0

Nussbaumer, C. (2016, June 2). The Cat in the Hat knows a lot about Data Visualization [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yFUvaxF6S84

Assignments:

Discussion Question, Rethinking Visualizations: How have this week’s readings & viewings changed how you see data visualization and the process of creating visualizations? Think of a past visualization that you’ve created and write how you would approach that differently now, whether that be in the process of assembling your brief/use case (or writing one because you didn’t have one), the design process, and/or the implementation.If you haven’t done visualizations, then think of text that you’ve written that could have been visualized. How would you approach the task of creating the visualization(s)?

Week 2 Assignments: In this week’s assignments you will create visualizations for cardiac quality measures. Note that you will create the visualizations in both Tableau AND Excel. See Blackboard for assignment specifics and helpful resources. 

WEEK 3 — How do we Know the Data is Good?

Learning Outcomes:

• Build scatter plots, strip plots, and box plots in Tableau
• Use data visualizations to answer specific questions about the data

Course Materials:

Kirk Textbook

• Chapter 4 – Working With Data
• Chapter 6 – This week, look at the different types of graphs on pages 142-188. You will read the entire chapter next week.

Wickham, H. (n.d.) Tidy data. Journal of Statistical Software,1 – 13. Retrieved from http://vita.had.co.nz/papers/tidy-data.pdf

Rost, L. C. (2016, December 16). How we cleaned up and ranked our listeners’ favorite albums of 2016 [Blog post]. Retrieved from http://blog.apps.npr.org/2016/12/16/all-songs-considered-poll.html

Review Healthcare Hotspotting website: (https://hotspotting.camdenhealth.org/getting-started-with-data/)

Why Data Visualizations. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.dashingd3js.com/why-data-visualizations

Videos:

Micallef, L. (2012, November 7). Explaining Bayesian problems using visualizations [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8VZqxcu0I0

PBS. (2011, August 3). Frontline: Doctor hotspot (full report) PBS [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=2&v=0DiwTjeF5AU

Assignments:

Discussion Question, Cleaning Up Data: Healthcare data is not uniform across systems. For example, dates might use a mm/dd/yy format (numbers) or perhaps month name, date, year (words). Systems may also differ in measure, such as measuring a baby’s weight in ounces or grams. Inconsistent data needs to be cleaned up before it can be used to create data visualizations. Cleaning up that data takes time and is therefore costly. Read the article on how NPR ran into a problem with inconsistent data and what they did to clean it up: How We Cleaned Up And Ranked Our Listeners’ Favorite Albums of 2016 (Rost, 2016) linked in course.

Think about another case where inconsistent data caused problems. Your example can be from your work life, your personal life, or something you read about in the media. If you can’t find an example, please imagine one. Describe the scenario. What was the process for ensuring that the data was consistent and cleaning up any inconsistent data? (or what should it have been if it wasn’t done) Were there lasting ramifications caused by the inconsistent data?

Week 3 Assignments: In this week’s assignments you will use the HbA1c dataset and Tableau to create scatter plots, strip plots, and box plots to allow you to visualize different aspects of the data. See Blackboard for details. 

WEEK 4 — Making the Data Usable

Learning Outcomes:

• Address variations in databases to normalize data
• Identify appropriate variables so that tables may be joined
• Select appropriate visualizations to show levels of granularity

Course Materials:

Kirk textbook

• Chapter 6 – Data Representation
• Chapter 9 – Colour

Abela, A. (2009).Chart suggestions-A thought-starter [Graphic]. Retrieved from http://extremepresentation.typepad.com/files/choosing-a-good-chart-09.pdf

Few, S. (2005). Effectively communicating numbers: Selecting the best means and manner of display Retrieved from https://www.perceptualedge.com/articles/Whitepapers/Communicating_Numbers.pdf

Presentation:

Cherdarchuk, J. (2014, September 26). Salvaging the Pie. Retrieved from https://www.darkhorseanalytics.com/blog/salvaging-the-pie

Assignments:

Discussion Question, Levels of specificity: Data can be viewed at different levels of specificity. Let’s use an electronic calendar as an example. You can look at your calendar by day, by week, by month, and even by year. The calendar view you select, is influenced by the information you need.

Now consider a patient with heart failure who needs to lose weight and who also needs to track their weight on a daily basis because extreme changes in weight may indicate a change in disease status. What is the value of looking at this person’s weight change by day, week, month, year?

What is another example of health data that we might want to view at different levels of specificity? Why? If you don’t have experience looking at clinical data in this way, write about something that you might track: finances, weight loss, strength training, sport training, etc.

Week 4 Assignments: You will use the HbA1c dataset and Tableau to create pie charts, a stacked bar chart, and a treemap. You will also be given a database with inconsistent data that you will have to clean up. In addition, you will join two datasets using Tableau. See Blackboard for details. 

WEEK 5 — Explanatory Visualizations

Learning Outcomes:

• Build an explanatory visualization to present needed information
• Create a presentation to showcase the visualization

Course Materials:

Kirk Textbook

• Chapter 6 – Data Representation (you may want to look at this chapter again)
• Chapter 8 – Annotation

Videos:

Rosling, H. (2006, February). The best stats you’ve ever seen [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/hans_rosling_shows_the_best_stats_you_ve_ever_seen

Reininger, H. (2012, April 17). Hans Rosling’s shortest TED talk [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNs-ziziPyo

Assignments:

Discussion Question, Peer Support for Key Assessment 1: The week 5 discussion is ungraded. It is a peer support discussion. Use it to reach out to your classmates for assistance with the week 5 assignment. You should also plan to check it throughout the week to see if you can help others with challenges they may have.

Key Assessment 1 Explanatory Visualization Presentation: This assignment is the first of two key assessments in the course. The student will create an explanatory visualization to show physician and practice level performance compared to target values for 5 quality measures over time. Please see Blackboard for specifics.

WEEK 6 — Principles of Good Visualization

Learning Outcomes:

• Discuss elements that work well in visualizations
• Construct a simple dashboard

Course Materials:

Kirk Textbook

• Chapter 7 – Interactivity
• Chapter 9 – Colour (review)
• Chapter 10 – Composition

See Blackboard for additional course materials for completing this week’s assignments.

Assignments:

Visualization Upload: Upload the document or powerpoint that contains the visualization that you created last week to Google Drive folder linked in the course. You will need to look at one another’s visualizations to do in this week’s discussion post.

Discussion Question, Effective Visualization Elements: What works in a visualization is often a matter of personal preference. Take a look at the visualizations that your classmates created last week. What elements of the visualizations were most effective for you? What elements did you find confusing? What elements were not as effective for you?

The purpose of this discussion is not to discuss individual visualizations, but rather to consider the visualizations as a whole and talk about elements of the visualizations: choices in data representation, color, composition, annotation, etc. Remember, you can find the visualizations in the Google Folder (where you should have put your own visualization at the beginning of this week) linked in the course.

Create a Dashboard Assignment: During the next two weeks, you will create exploratory visualizations. Exploratory visualizations are often referred to as interactive visualizations because the user can interact with the visualization to see the data from a variety of different views. The assignment for this week is to create an interactive dashboard using the HbA1c dataset that you have used in prior weeks. (Next week you will create an interactive dashboard from a dataset that is less familiar to you.) See Blackboard for explicit instructions.

WEEK 7 — Exploratory Dashboards

Learning Outcomes:

• Create an interactive dashboard

Course Materials:

Review parts of the Kirk textbook to help you with your dashboard design, including:

• pp. 84-86
• Chapter 6
• pp. 244-247
• Chapter 7

See Blackboard for additional course materials on building dashboards.

Assignments:

Discussion Question, Peer Support for Key Assessment 2: This is an ungraded peer support post. Please post any challenges or problems you encounter this week. Your peers may be able to give you ideas to solve the problems you run into. Check this discussion throughout the week to see if you help your classmates with challenges they may have.

Key Assessment 2 Exploratory Interactive Dashboard: This week you will create your second key assessment project: an interactive dashboard with a dataset that you have used in the past. You will turn in the brief, the Tableau workbook, and a demonstration of the dashboard’s functionality through Screencast-o-matic or another tool. Your dashboard will include three visualizations. One visualization is your choice — it should be a showcase for your creativity and demonstrate how well you have come to learn Tableau. The remaining two visualizations will be used by clinicians and financial staff, the format of the visualizations is up to you. Your dashboard will provide insight into questions posed in the prompt in aggregate and at the individual hospital level of analysis.

WEEK 8 — Network Mapping

Learning Outcomes:

• Create a network map

Course Materials:

TED. (2010, June). Nicholas Christakis: How social networks predict epidemics [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/nicholas_christakis_how_social_networks_predict_epidemics?language=en

Assignments:

Discussion Question, Predictions with Social Networks: Discuss your thoughts on Nicholas Christakis’s Ted talk. He mentions a number of things, such as flu epidemics, that we can use social networking to predict. If you could have access to all the necessary data, what would you like to use social networking to predict? Why?

Network Mapping: You will use Gephi to create a network map that shows the relationships between HIV users and their contacts/partners. See Blackboard for specific instructions.

Student Resources

Online Student Support

Your Student Support Specialist is a resource for you. Please don't hesitate to contact them for assistance, including, but not limited to course planning, current problems or issues in a course, technology concerns, or personal emergencies.

Questions? Visit the Student Support Health Informatics page

APA Style Guide

• https://www.apastyle.org

UNE Libraries:

• Library Access for all students: Your library login ID and password are the same as the ones you use to log into Blackboard/Brightspace.
• MSIN Databases: https://library.une.edu/library-materials/find/research-by-subject/health-informatics/
• Library Questions: Ask a librarian or phone library staff at (207) 602-2361 or (207) 221-4330.

UNE Student Academic Success Center

The Student Academic Success Center (SASC) offers a range of services to support your academic achievement, including tutoring, writing support, test prep and studying strategies, learning style consultations, and many online resources. To make an appointment for tutoring, writing support, or a learning specialist consultation, go to une.tutortrac.com. To access our online resources, including links, guides, and video tutorials, please visit:

• UNE Student Academic Success Center

Accommodations

Any student who would like to request, or ask any questions regarding, academic adjustments or accommodations must contact the Student Access Center at (207) 221-4438 or pcstudentaccess@une.edu. Student Access Center staff will evaluate the student's documentation and determine eligibility of accommodation(s) through the Student Access Center registration procedure.

Online Peer Support

Togetherall is a 24/7 communication and emotional support platform monitored by trained clinicians. It’s a safe place online to get things off your chest, have conversations, express yourself creatively, and learn how to manage your mental health. If sharing isn’t your thing, Togetherall has other tools and courses to help you look after yourself with plenty of resources to explore. Whether you’re struggling to cope, feeling low, or just need a place to talk, Togetherall can help you explore your feelings in a safe supportive environment. You can join Togetherall using your UNE email address.

Information Technology Services (ITS)

Students should notify their Student Support Specialist and instructor in the event of a problem relating to a course. This notification should occur promptly and proactively to support timely resolution.

ITS Contact: Toll-Free Help Desk 24 hours/7 days per week at 1-877-518-4673.

Career Ready Program

The College of Professional Studies supports its online students and alumni in their career journey!

The Career Ready Program provides tools and resources to help students explore and hone in on their career goals, search for jobs, create and improve professional documents, build professional network, learn interview skills, grow as a professional, and more. Come back often, at any time, as you move through your journey from career readiness as a student to career growth, satisfaction, and success as alumni.

Policies

Technology Requirements

Please review the technical requirements for UNE Online Graduate Programs: Technical Requirements

Turnitin Originality Check and Plagiarism Detection Tool

The College of Professional Studies uses Turnitin to help deter plagiarism and to foster the proper attribution of sources. Turnitin provides comparative reports for submitted assignments that reflect similarities in other written works. This can include, but is not limited to, previously submitted assignments, internet articles, research journals, and academic databases.

Make sure to cite your sources appropriately as well as use your own words in synthesizing information from published literature. Webinars and workshops, included early in your coursework, will help guide best practices in APA citation and academic writing.

You can learn more about Turnitin in the guide on how to navigate your Similarity Report.

Information Technology Services (ITS)

ITS Contact: Toll Free Help Desk 24 hours/7 days per week at 1-877-518-4673

Course Evaluation Policy

Course surveys are one of the most important tools that University of New England uses for evaluating the quality of your education, and for providing meaningful feedback to instructors on their teaching. In order to assure that the feedback is both comprehensive and precise, we need to receive it from each student for each course. Evaluation access is distributed via UNE email at the beginning of the last week of the course.

Late Policy

Assignments: Late assignments will be accepted up to 3 days late; however, there is a 10% grade reduction (from the total points) for the late submission. After three days the assignment will not be accepted.

Discussion posts: If the initial post is submitted late, but still within the discussion board week, there will be a 10% grade reduction from the total discussion grade (e.g., a 3 point discussion will be reduced by 0.3 points). Any posts submitted after the end of the Discussion Board week will not be graded.

Please make every effort ahead of time to contact your instructor and your student support specialist if you are not able to meet an assignment deadline. Arrangements for extenuating circumstances may be considered by faculty.

Attendance Policy

8 week: Students taking online graduate courses through the College of Professional Studies will be administratively dropped for non-participation if a graded assignment/discussion post is not submitted before Sunday at 11:59 pm ET of the first week of the term. Reinstatement is at the purview of the Dean's Office.

16 week: Students taking online graduate courses through the College of Professional Studies will be administratively dropped for non-participation if a graded assignment/discussion post is not submitted before Friday at 11:59 pm ET of the second week of the term. Reinstatement is at the purview of the Dean's Office.

Student Handbook Online - Policies and Procedures

The policies contained within this document apply to all students in the College of Professional Studies. It is each student's responsibility to know the contents of this handbook.

UNE Online Student Handbook

UNE Course Withdrawal

Please contact your student support specialist if you are considering dropping or withdrawing from a course. The last day to drop for 100% tuition refund is the 2nd day of the course. Financial Aid charges may still apply. Students using Financial Aid should contact the Financial Aid Office prior to withdrawing from a course.

Academic Integrity

The University of New England values academic integrity in all aspects of the educational experience. Academic dishonesty in any form undermines this standard and devalues the original contributions of others. It is the responsibility of all members of the University community to actively uphold the integrity of the academy; failure to act, for any reason, is not acceptable. For information about plagiarism and academic misconduct, please visit UNE Plagiarism Policies.

Academic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to the following:

1. Cheating, copying, or the offering or receiving of unauthorized assistance or information.
2. Fabrication or falsification of data, results, or sources for papers or reports.
3. Action which destroys or alters the work of another student.
4. Multiple submissions of the same paper or report for assignments in more than one course without permission of each instructor.
5. Plagiarism, the appropriation of records, research, materials, ideas, or the language of other persons or writers and the submission of them as one's own.

Charges of academic dishonesty will be reviewed by the Program Director. Penalties for students found responsible for violations may depend upon the seriousness and circumstances of the violation, the degree of premeditation involved, and/or the student’s previous record of violations. Appeal of a decision may be made to the Dean whose decision will be final. Student appeals will take place through the grievance process outlined in the student handbook.