Data in Business and Society - 2024 entry

***DATA SCIENCE AND DATA SCIENCE WITH BUSINESS STUDENTS ONLY***

Data science is revolutionising many aspects of society, with major impacts on industry, business and the public sector. These rapid changes raise many important issues concerning ethics, privacy and governance. In this module you will learn about the social context of data science and how data is used to inform business practices. You will also consider the ethical issues that can arise from machine learning and analysis of “big data”, as well as the legal frameworks and legislation relevant to collection and use of data by organisations. This module provides essential background for any data scientist or data manager whose use of data might affect people or organisations.

Pre-requisites: ECMM429 Introduction to Data Science.
Co-requisites: None.

This module is a core module for MSc Data Science students.

This module aims to:

● Explore how information and analytics can support the development of strategy in organisations, in ways that are responsive to broader social concerns in the UK and internationally;
● Encourage critical approaches to data definition and collection methodologies with the aim of creating accurate links between real-world problems and data driven solutions;
● Enhance responsiveness to data protection and dissemination policies at local, national and international level;
● Provide skills in engaging data providers and customers to ensure compliance with regulations and legal systems;
● Ensure awareness of social embedding of data collection, analysis and re-use practices, with attention to potential challenges in advertising,  implementing and assessing data science services (and particularly Big Data) for the general public as well as specific stakeholders (government, local authorities, competitors in industry, lobby groups).

The module will draw on recent scholarship in data studies and case studies based on a variety of contexts. The module will offer an opportunity to acquire knowledge of data handling practices and their implications for business, and enhance data management skills for those pursuing careers in planning and analytics. The module provides training in ethical and societal implications of data management strategies, and applications within business planning.

The module will engage you in independent research to produce an individual essay reflecting on data management issues within your own business.

On successful completion of this module you should be able to:

Module Specific Skills and Knowledge

Discipline Specific Skills and Knowledge

Personal and Key Transferable / Employment Skills and Knowledge

The module will cover:

● How businesses use data to build, understand and report their strategic goals
● Applying current concepts in data and analytics to real examples
● Using ‘Design Thinking’ to create information management systems
● Understanding the legal, ethical and governance considerations around use and analysis of data in social and business contexts.

Specific topics will include:

● Data projects. Using design thinking techniques to understand organisational problems in data management and scope solutions to these.
● Workshop on “what are data?”. Big data, small data and the challenge of capturing the long tail of research.
● Group discussions around research project topic.
● Workshop on data storage and archiving.
● Workshop on data dissemination, curation and Open Data, the limits of automation, and the challenges of making data accessible and re-usable.
● Presentations on research projects, group discussion of data challenges within different types of businesses with varying customer base.
● Data protection and legal frameworks for data collection, storage and analysis.

Deferral – if you miss an assessment for certificated reasons judged acceptable by the Mitigation Committee, you will normally be either deferred in the assessment or an extension may be granted. The mark given for a re-assessment taken as a result of deferral will not be capped and will be treated as it would be if it were your first attempt at the assessment.

Referral – if you have failed the module overall (i.e. a final overall module mark of less than 50%) you will be required to re-take some or all parts of the assessment, as decided by the Module Convenor. The final mark given for a module where re-assessment was taken as a result of referral will be capped at 50%.

Basic reading:

ELE: http://vle.exeter.ac.uk/

Web based and Electronic Resources:

Other Resources:

Science International (2015). Big Data in an Open Data World.

Hey et al. 2009. The Fourth Paradigm . Microsoft Publishing.

Hine, Christine. 2006. ‘‘Databases as Scientific Instruments and Their Role in the Ordering of Scientific Work.’’ Social Studies of Science 36 (2): 269-98.

Dove, Edward S., Yann Joly, Anne-Marie Tassé, Paul Burton, Rex Chisholm, Isabel Fortier, Pat Goodwin, et al. 2015. “Genomic Cloud Computing: Legal and Ethical Points to Consider.” European Journal of Human Genetics 23 (10): 1271–78. doi:10.1038/ejhg.2014.196.

Dove, Edward S., David Townend, Eric M. Meslin, Martin Bobrow, Katherine Littler, Dianne Nicol, Jantina de Vries, et al. 2016. “Ethics Review for nternational Data-Intensive Research.” Science 351 (6280): 1399–1400. doi:10.1126/science.aad5269.

Burton, Paul R., Madeleine J. Murtagh, Andy Boyd, James B. Williams, Edward S. Dove, Susan E. Wallace, Anne-Marie Tassé, et al. 2015. “Data Safe Havens in Health Research and Healthcare.” Bioinformatics 31 (20): 3241–48. doi:10.1093/bioinformatics/btv279.

Boulton, Geoffrey, Brian Campbell, Brian Collins, Peter Elias, Wendy Hall, Graeme Laurie, Onora O’Neill, et al. 2012. “Science as an Open Enterprise.” 02/12. London: The Royal Society Science Policy Centre.

Reading list for this module: