Special Study Guides for Data Warehouse, Data Analytics, Big Data for CS Senior Projects

145 Pages·2016·12.86 MB·English

I S
NDEPENDENT TUDY
Just how much can be learned in a semester under Dr. Chung’s guidance
Nicholas J White
April 24th, 2016 | nickwhite.us
C
ONTENTS
Introduction 6
Why I requested an independent study (Beginning of Semester) 6
Why I am glad I requested an independent study (End of Semester) 8
Mission Statement and Goals 9
Course Mission Statement 9
Course Goals and Expected Outcomes 9
Introduction 10
Coursera Online Courses 11
Introduction to Coursera 11
My Coursework for This Semester 12
Introduction to Specializations 12
Specializations 12
Data Warehousing and Business Intelligence Specialization 13
Machine Learning Specialization 14
Data Mining Specialization 16
Data Science Specialization 18
Algorithms Specialization 20
CIS 611 Selected Course Materials 23
Introduction to CIS 611 Course Materials 23
eDx Online Courses 24
Introduction to eDx 24
Additional Coursework 25
Introduction to Additional Coursework 25
Coursera Online Courses 26
Data Warehousing and Business Intelligence Specialization 26
Course 1: Database Management Essentials 27
Course 2: Data Warehouse Concepts, Design, and Data Integration 39
Course 3: Relational Database Support for Data Warehouses 46
Course 4: Business Intelligence Concepts, Tools, and Applications 52
Project: Design and Build a Data Warehouse for Business Intelligence Implementation 58
Machine Learning Specialization 65
Course 1: Machine Learning Foundations: A Case Study Approach 65
Course 2: Machine Learning: Regression 73
Course 3: Machine Learning: Classification 83
Course 4: Machine Learning: Clustering & Retrieval 93
Course 5: Machine Learning: Recommender Systems & Dimensionality Reduction 94
Data Mining Specialization 94
Course 1: Data Visualization 94
Course 2: Text Retrieval and Search Engines 98
Course 3: Text Mining and Analytics 98
Course 4: Pattern Discovery in Data Mining 99
Course 5: Cluster Analysis in Data Mining 99
Data Science Specialization 100
Course 1: The Data Scientist’s Toolbox 100
Course 2: R Programming 102
Course 3: Getting and Cleaning Data 107
Course 4: Exploratory Data Analysis 109
Course 5: Reproducible Research 111
Course 6: Statistical Inference 114
Course 7: Regression Models 118
Course 8: Practical Machine Learning 122
Algorithms Specialization 125
Course 1: Algorithmic Toolbox 125
Course 2: Data Structures 130
Course 3: Algorithms on Graphs 135
Course 4: Algorithms on Strings 136
Couse 5: Advanced Algorithms and Complexity 136
CIS 611 Selected Course Materials 137
Database Normalization 137
Indexes 137
Functional Dependency 137
Storage and File System 137
eDx Online Courses 138
Course 1: Introduction to Data Storage and Management Technologies 138
Course 2: Introduction to Cloud Computing 140
Additional Coursework 144
SAC Application 144
Senior Design 144
Work Experience and Conclusion 145
C O O
OURSE VERVIEW AND BJECTIVES
I
NTRODUCTION
WHY I REQUESTED AN INDEPENDENT STUDY (BEGINNING OF SEMESTER)
I’ll start by saying that this year is my senior year at Cleveland State University, thus, I do not have
any motive or goal for writing this reflection of my independent study other than to give the
college of engineering a glimpse into the experience of a student, firsthand. Hopefully after
reading this, the reader will fully realize just how much of an impact a single professor can have
on a student’s life, career, and love of engineering. I’d also like to say that I plan on graduating
this semester, and so am not making an attempt to obtain a higher grade for this reflection. This is
purely for the edification of the reader, and so the administration and Dr. Chung know just how
much I sincerely appreciate all her hard work and effort this past year.
Last semester (Fall 2015) I took Database Systems (CIS 430) with Dr. Sun Chung. To many
undergraduate students, the topic of database systems is one which they do not immediately
associate with glamor, fame, or what is referred to as the “sexy” part of computer science. To be
entirely honest, I was one of these students. I was, at the time, working as a web application
developer for Parker Hannifin, specifically in front-end technologies. My interest in database
systems was, well, non-existent.
This course started me down a path that I am certain is going to be my specialization and career.
Enterprise database systems, data mining, big data, and all the other specialization under the
umbrella of database systems are what I find to be most interesting, challenging, and downright
cool, and this is all due to the foundation I received in Dr. Chung’s course. Dr. Chung brings to the
table a multitude of attributes which make her not only a remarkable professor, but an incredible
role model also. Her enthusiasm towards the topics she is professing, as well as towards her students
is unwavering.
While enrolled in CIS 430 I earned a position on Parker Hannifin’s Data and Business Intelligence
team working on building out their data warehouse. The only reason I was able to transition to this
team was the skills I learned from Dr. Chung in CIS 430, as well as the countless discussions we
would have after class regarding how I should best prepare myself for the transition (it is important
to note that Dr. Chung would often times stay 30, sometimes 40 minutes after class just to explain
a topic which we were not even covering in the course). To me, this is truly what it means to be
an engineering student. Until this time, I was unable to reach out to professors in this way, and so
my learning and appetite for knowledge was curbed.
With all this in mind, when I discovered that I could do an independent study, I may have actually
jumped for joy. Upon discussion with Dr. Chung, the topics to be discovered weren’t ones that
were arbitrarily picked, Dr. Chung (knowing her students and their aspirations) decided to put
together a curriculum for me that would change my career forever, and for the better.
WHY I AM GLAD I REQUESTED AN INDEPENDENT STUDY (END OF SEMESTER)
Having completed the semester of independent study, I now have a lot more to talk about with
regards to why I am glad I did indeed take this course. At the beginning of the semester, Dr. Chung
and I had discussions about where I was going in my career, and what I wanted to do (something
I have never talked to a professor about). With this in mind, she designed a custom curriculum for
me.
There are many reasons why one might perform better in an independent study setting than in a
classroom setting. Some individuals are better suited for independent learning. Some students
prefer to learn at times of the day where courses are not offered (at night, for example). Although
these statements are true, the reason I performed better in an independent study setting than in
any classroom I have been in at this university was the structure, guidance, and leadership put
forth by Dr. Chung. As you will see, we covered a humongous amount of area this semester, and
yes I used the word ‘humongous’ because we did cover MongoDB as well!
In closing, I hope you enjoy my coverage of what I have learned this semester. If you enjoy reading
it even 1% as much as I enjoyed actually doing it, we’ll both be very happy!
M S G
ISSION TATEMENT AND OALS
COURSE MISSION STATEMENT
The main driving forces behind the curriculum put forth by Dr. Chung were my new position on the
data warehousing team at Parker Hannifin, and the interest and passion Dr. Chung and I share for
the topic of database systems.
The mission statement for this course was to accomplish the following goals:
• Further my education in the field of data warehousing with a focus on practical work, as
well as the theory and principles behind it
• Expand my knowledge of the field to include the topics of
o Big data and cloud computing
o Machine learning and its role in the ecosystem
o Relational concepts as they pertain to data warehouses
• Determine which part of the field I am most interested in, and would like to pursue for my
master’s degree
COURSE GOALS AND EXPECTED OUTCOMES
For this course, Dr. Chung combined several different learning techniques and mediums to form
the curriculum. The goals of this curriculum were to cover a wide range of topics, but to do so in
enough detail so that I can actually implement them.
The expected outcomes were twofold:
1. Know the theory behind each topic, and truly understand why we need the technology,
how we got to this point, where it is headed, and how it works on a highly technical level
2. Be able to implement each topic in a realistic setting. Knowing how something works is the
first step, the next step for each topic was to implement it
C O
OURSEWORK VERVIEW
I
NTRODUCTION
The actual coursework was chosen to cover all the objectives listed above, as well as to be
interesting and practical in nature. The major breakdown of the coursework is as follows.
Four different, and entirely separate sources of education were used for this independent study.
Details of each type will be covered in their respective ‘introduction’ sections, but as a high-level
overview, they fall into two categories.
The first category is online, or e-learning. I took several courses from top universities, all online. This
coursework was guided and supplemented by Dr. Chung’s knowledge when we met throughout
the semester. The point of the online coursework was to allow me to keep learning every day,
when we met only a few times a week. I was able to learn at, say, 9PM to 1AM every day, which
allowed me to cover a lot of ground between our meetings. This was immensely helpful.
The second category is learning with Dr. Chung, facilitated in person. The topics covered were
more in-depth than the online courses, and will be covered in detail in the following sections.