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JOHN CABOT UNIVERSITY

COURSE CODE: "EXP 1020"
COURSE NAME: "Introduction to Text Mining"
SEMESTER & YEAR: Fall 2020
SYLLABUS

INSTRUCTOR: James Teasdale
EMAIL: [email protected]
 HOURS: F 2:00-5:10 PM [Course meets on: October 23, October 24, November 27 and December 4]
TOTAL NO. OF CONTACT HOURS: 15
CREDITS: 1
PREREQUISITES:
OFFICE HOURS:
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
Grading: This course will be graded on a PASS/FAIL scale
This course introduces students to the basic elements of text mining that is used in various disciplines to do content analysis by exploring and analyzing large amounts of unstructured text and turning it into quantitative indicators and actionable information. The focus will be on basic applications of text mining based on different automated computational tools and statistical techniques that prepare and handle any document to a form in which the text can be mined. Some standard functions of RStudio and Microsoft Excel will be covered.
SUMMARY OF COURSE CONTENT:

This course will introduce students to the various techniques used for analysing and 'mining' large, unctructured textual data. These techniques will allow students to understand how, by gaining insights into the relationships and patterns between segments fo text, conclusions can be drawn on the corpus as a whole: in sum enabling students to use the quantitative data and results to draw qualitative conclusions. Therefore, istruction will be given from the very start of such procedures, in choosing which texts to investigate, through the technical gathering, cleaning and scraping of this corpus to the final computer assisted analysis and construction of conclusions. A special emphasis will be placed on deductive cluster analysis and inductive dictionary building. The course requires no previous knowledge of such techniques and the aim is to provide skills that can be applied to research in any field.
LEARNING OUTCOMES:

- understand the underlying concepts of text mining and critical analysis

- be able to identify and gather text

- clean and prepare text for a corpus for investigation

- apply computerised factor analysis to text in order to gain quantitavie insight into content

- analyse content to produce qualitative and robust conclusions
TEXTBOOK:
NONE
REQUIRED RESERVED READING:
NONE

RECOMMENDED RESERVED READING:
NONE
GRADING POLICY
-ASSESSMENT METHODS:
AssignmentGuidelinesWeight
Attendance 25
Final PresentationStudents will apply the skills learnt through the course to a topic of their choosing and present these findings and conclusions at the end of the course. Examples of this might be the analysis of the lyrics of a band across their career to understand if a change in content occurs at different periods, or whether a politicans tweets use certain words and phrases consistently.75

-ASSESSMENT CRITERIA:
AWork of this quality directly addresses the question or problem raised and provides a coherent argument displaying an extensive knowledge of relevant information or content. This type of work demonstrates the ability to critically evaluate concepts and theory and has an element of novelty and originality. There is clear evidence of a significant amount of reading beyond that required for the course.
BThis is highly competent level of performance and directly addresses the question or problem raised.There is a demonstration of some ability to critically evaluatetheory and concepts and relate them to practice. Discussions reflect the student’s own arguments and are not simply a repetition of standard lecture andreference material. The work does not suffer from any major errors or omissions and provides evidence of reading beyond the required assignments.
CThis is an acceptable level of performance and provides answers that are clear but limited, reflecting the information offered in the lectures and reference readings.
DThis level of performances demonstrates that the student lacks a coherent grasp of the material.Important information is omitted and irrelevant points included.In effect, the student has barely done enough to persuade the instructor that s/he should not fail.
FThis work fails to show any knowledge or understanding of the issues raised in the question. Most of the material in the answer is irrelevant.
-ATTENDANCE REQUIREMENTS:
ATTENDANCE REQUIREMENTS AND EXAMINATION POLICY
You cannot make-up a major exam (midterm or final) without the permission of the Dean’s Office. The Dean’s Office will grant such permission only when the absence was caused by a serious impediment, such as a documented illness, hospitalization or death in the immediate family (in which you must attend the funeral) or other situations of similar gravity. Absences due to other meaningful conflicts, such as job interviews, family celebrations, travel difficulties, student misunderstandings or personal convenience, will not be excused. Students who will be absent from a major exam must notify the Dean’s Office prior to that exam. Absences from class due to the observance of a religious holiday will normally be excused. Individual students who will have to miss class to observe a religious holiday should notify the instructor by the end of the Add/Drop period to make prior arrangements for making up any work that will be missed. The final exam period runs until ____________
ACADEMIC HONESTY
As stated in the university catalog, any student who commits an act of academic dishonesty will receive a failing grade on the work in which the dishonesty occurred. In addition, acts of academic dishonesty, irrespective of the weight of the assignment, may result in the student receiving a failing grade in the course. Instances of academic dishonesty will be reported to the Dean of Academic Affairs. A student who is reported twice for academic dishonesty is subject to summary dismissal from the University. In such a case, the Academic Council will then make a recommendation to the President, who will make the final decision.
STUDENTS WITH LEARNING OR OTHER DISABILITIES
John Cabot University does not discriminate on the basis of disability or handicap. Students with approved accommodations must inform their professors at the beginning of the term. Please see the website for the complete policy.
SCHEDULE

Week 1

An introduction to the concepts and foundations of text mining and critical analysis

Week 2

Exploration of software and applications

Week 3

Text extraction and preparation

Week 4

Analysis and forming of conclusions