Courses

STS 350 Data and Society

Vast amounts of data exist online which chronicle aspects of our modern society in great detail. Careful analysis of these data sets can uncover useful information which may allow individuals, organizations, and governments to make better decisions as they prepare for the future. In addition to the benefits that come with more information, there is a growing risk of these data being misused in critical situations, either deliberately or as a result of poor training. This course introduces students to the skills necessary to extract meaningful and useful information from this data, the caveats associated with data mishandling and misuse, and the role that big data and online algorithms are playing in shaping society. Tenets of the scientific method will be applied to probe questions of a social, political, and economic nature through the analysis of publicly available online datasets. Students will learn hypothesis testing to be able to make statistically sound conclusions from their data analysis projects. Data acquisition, basic statistical techniques, data visualization, and methods for logical interpretation of results will be taught. The course will primarily use Microsoft Excel for data handling and analysis. STS 330 can be taken as a prerequisite or a corequisite. Prerequisite(s): STS 330, MTH 110, and BCS 160
  • Level: 300
  • Credits: Credits:3 (3,0)