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Unit of study_

DATA1001: Foundations of Data Science

2025 unit information

DATA1001 is a foundational unit in the Data Science major. The unit focuses on developing critical and statistical thinking skills for all students. Does mobile phone usage increase the incidence of brain tumours? What is the public's attitude to shark baiting following a fatal attack? Statistics is the science of decision making, essential in every industry and undergirds all research that relies on data. Students will use problems and data from the physical, health, life and social sciences to develop adaptive problem solving skills in a team setting. Taught interactively with embedded technology, DATA1001 develops critical thinking and skills to problem-solve with data. It is the prerequisite for DATA2002.

Unit details and rules

Managing faculty or University school:

Science

Study level Undergraduate
Academic unit Mathematics and Statistics Academic Operations
Credit points 6
Prerequisites:
? 
None
Corequisites:
? 
None
Prohibitions:
? 
DATA1901 or MATH1005 or MATH1905 or MATH1015 or MATH1115 or ENVX1001 or ENVX1002 or ECMT1010 or BUSS1020 or STAT1021
Assumed knowledge:
? 
Year 10 mathematics or equivalent

At the completion of this unit, you should be able to:

  • LO1. articulate the importance of statistics in a data-rich world, including current challenges such as ethics, privacy and big data
  • LO2. identify the study design behind a dataset and how the study design affects context specific outcomes
  • LO3. produce, interpret and compare graphical and numerical summaries, using base R and ggplot
  • LO4. apply the normal approximation to data, with consideration of measurement error
  • LO5. model and explain the relationship between 2 variables using linear regression
  • LO6. use the box model to describe chance and chance variability, including sample surveys and the central limit theorem
  • LO7. given real multivariate data and a problem, formulate an appropriate hypothesis and perform a range of hypothesis tests
  • LO8. interpret the p-value, conscious of the various pitfalls associated with testing
  • LO9. critique the use of statistics in media and research papers in a wide variety of data contexts, with attention to confounding and bias
  • LO10. perform data exploration in a team, and communicate the findings via oral presentations and reproducible reports, with interrogation.

Unit availability

This section lists the session, attendance modes and locations the unit is available in. There is a unit outline for each of the unit availabilities, which gives you information about the unit including assessment details and a schedule of weekly activities.

The outline is published 2 weeks before the first day of teaching. You can look at previous outlines for a guide to the details of a unit.

Session MoA ?  Location Outline ? 
Semester 1 2024
Normal day Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney
Semester 2 2024
Normal day Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney
Session MoA ?  Location Outline ? 
Semester 1 2025
Normal day Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney
Outline unavailable
Semester 1 2025
Online Westmead, Sydney
Outline unavailable
Semester 2 2025
Normal day Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney
Outline unavailable
Session MoA ?  Location Outline ? 
Semester 1 2020
Normal day Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney
Semester 2 2020
Normal day Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney
Semester 1 2021
Normal day Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney
Semester 1 2021
Normal day Remote
Semester 2 2021
Normal day Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney
Semester 2 2021
Normal day Remote
Semester 1 2022
Normal day Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney
Semester 1 2022
Normal day Remote
Semester 2 2022
Normal day Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney
Semester 2 2022
Normal day Remote
Semester 1 2023
Normal day Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney
Semester 1 2023
Normal day Remote
Semester 2 2023
Normal day Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney

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Modes of attendance (MoA)

This refers to the Mode of attendance (MoA) for the unit as it appears when you’re selecting your units in Sydney Student. Find more information about modes of attendance on our website.