Introduction
In this class we will be focusing on data science. The primary
goal of data science is to improve decision making by extracting
information from large data sets. You may not be aware of how
data science is affecting your life on a daily basis. Data
science applications are every where. For example they are used
to determine what ads you see online, what movies are
recommended to you on various streaming services, and what posts
you see on Instagram, Facebook, or TikTok.
We will be looking in particular at ways that data science can
go awry through the book Weapons of Math Destruction
written by Cathy O'Neil. She provides numerous examples of
problematic data science applications that have been used to
evaluate teachers, rate colleges, screen job applicants, and to
direct policing. At the end of this class you will do your own
analysis on a dataset of your choice.
Course Basics
In-Person Schedule
| Science Class |
MWF |
9:00-10:00am |
SCI 204 |
| Lab |
T |
1:00-4:00pm |
SCI 204 |
| Office hours |
Th |
11:00-12:00pm |
SCI 243 |
Contact Information
| Professor: |
Lisa Meeden |
| Email: |
lmeeden1 at swarthmore.edu |
| Office: |
SCI 243 |
CS Support Staff
| |
| Academic Support: | Lauri Courtenay |
| Mentor: | Natassia Lowe |
| Mentor: | Rain White |