BUS7017
Analysing Big Data
Report
Date for Submission: Please refer to the timetable on ilearn
(The submission portal on ilearn will close at 14:00 UK time
on the date of submission)
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including without limitation electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written consent of Arden University. To find out more about
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Version: V5
Assignment Brief
As part of the formal assessment for the programme you are required to submit a
Diagnostic Report. Please refer to your Student Handbook for full details of the
programme assessment scheme and general information on preparing and submitting
assignments.
Learning Outcomes:
On successful completion of this module students will be able to:
1. Critically examine the characteristics and challenges presented by Big
Data sets
2. Apply and evaluate analytical software and techniques
3. Evaluate Big Data governance, ethical and security issues
4. Assess the importance of Big Data analysis in modern financial
environments
5. (Graduate Attributes)
Effective Communication. Communicate effectively both, verbally and
in writing, using a range of media widely used in relevant professional
context. Be IT, digitally and information literate
All learning outcomes must be met to pass the module.
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materials or this publication may be reproduced, shared (including in private social media groups), stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or means,
including without limitation electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written consent of Arden University. To find out more about
the use and distribution of programme materials please see the Arden Student Terms and Conditions.
Version: V5
Guidance
Your assignment should include: a title page containing your student number, the
module name, the submission deadline and the exact word count of your submitted
document; the appendices if relevant; and a reference list in AU Harvard system(s).
You should address all the elements of the assignment task listed below. Please note
that tutors will use the assessment criteria set out below in assessing your work.
You must not include your name in your submission because Arden University
operates anonymous marking, which means that markers should not be aware of the
identity of the student. However, please do not forget to include your STU number.
Maximum word count: 5,000 words
Please refer to the full word count policy which can be found in the Student Policies section
here: Arden University | Regulatory Framework
Please note the following:
Students are required to indicate the exact word count on the title page of the
assessment.
The word count includes everything in the main body of the assessment (including in
text citations and references). The word count excludes numerical data in tables,
figures, diagrams, footnotes, reference list and appendices. ALL other printed
words ARE included in the word count.
Please note that exceeding the word count by over 10% will result in a 10-percentage
point deduction.
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Arden University © reserves all rights of copyright and all other intellectual property rights in the learning materials and this publication. No part of any of the learning
materials or this publication may be reproduced, shared (including in private social media groups), stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or means,
including without limitation electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written consent of Arden University. To find out more about
the use and distribution of programme materials please see the Arden Student Terms and Conditions.
Version: V5
Assignment Task – Report
This assignment is worth 100% of the marks for this module.
Assignment aims and objectives
The aim of this assignment is twofold:
• Conduct and report on a diagnostic of the data environment in an organisation
of your choice.
• Based on the outcomes of the diagnostic, develop a professional discussion
presenting statistical and/or machine learning analysis of a large data set
coupled with a concluding narrative demonstrating appropriate
recommendations.
A diagnostic of the data environment an organisation operates in represents a starting
point in developing a big data analytics framework, and as such, is a key part of data
enabled decision-making at all levels. This aspect of data analytics should include the
following processes:
• Identification of major data sources and flows between the organisation and its
stakeholders;
• Formulation of the improvement in data integrity as well as its storing,
processing and reporting mechanisms;
• Recommendations on compliance procedures, specifically, data protection,
privacy and ethical assurance.
A statistical and/or machine learning analysis of a large data set is used to support and
enhance the decision-making process in a case organisation. It should include the
following components.
• Identification of a strategic decision which can be supported by data analytics;
• Description of relevant dataset;
• Selection and application of data mining procedures to the data set in question.
• Development of a report on forecasting and/or trends obtained through data
mining, which should be visualised with tables, charts and diagrams.
• Recommendations based on the outcomes of the aforementioned analysis.
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materials or this publication may be reproduced, shared (including in private social media groups), stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or means,
including without limitation electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written consent of Arden University. To find out more about
the use and distribution of programme materials please see the Arden Student Terms and Conditions.
Version: V5
Case study for this assignment
Option 1. For the case study in this assignment, please use an organisation of your
choice. This could be your current or previous workplace, start-up, social enterprise,
governmental or NGO policy-making consultancy, community project or any informal
activity, which could benefit from data analytics. You need to be familiar with the
organisation’s data analytics processes and you need to have senior management’s
permission to use specific organisational data for your analysis.
NB: Organisation name, other business or stakeholder particulars and any personally
identifiable information can be fully anonymised. The data used in your analysis can
also be altered so that no sensitive information is revealed.
Option 2. If option 1 poses an issue for you, please adopt a case study of a global
superstore using a related publicly available data set, which can be downloaded freely
from:
https://www.kaggle.com/datasets/rohitsahoo/sales-forecasting
For this case organisation, please demonstrate the diagnostic of its data environment
and perform the retail sales forecasting using the aforementioned data set. It is up to
you to identify and formulate a specific business question that needs to be addressed
with this forecasting.
Please note that if you are re-sitting this assessment for the first time, you may re-work
your original submission if you wish. However, if this is your third attempt at this
assessment, you must submit a piece of work which is substantially different from your
first two attempts.
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Arden University © reserves all rights of copyright and all other intellectual property rights in the learning materials and this publication. No part of any of the learning
materials or this publication may be reproduced, shared (including in private social media groups), stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or means,
including without limitation electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written consent of Arden University. To find out more about
the use and distribution of programme materials please see the Arden Student Terms and Conditions.
Version: V5
Assignment tasks
Task 1
Introduce your chosen case study organisation briefly to set out the context. Suggest
the products, services, and markets they are involved with. Develop a specific
proposal on an improved decision making within the chosen case study based on (a)
analysis of the currently observed data, and (b) any extra types of data that can be
retrieved, stored and processed for augmenting the currently available information.
This response must include:
• Analysis of key sources and flows of data that are collected, processed, stored
and taken into account in the chosen organisation’s decision-making process,
including a statement of all the current financial and non-financial data the
organisation uses in its decision making.
• An approach to the improvement in data integrity of the proposed data analytics
framework;
• Data protection and ethical assurance requirements.
(1000 words)
(20 marks)
(LO:3)
Task 2
Based on the outcomes of your response to Question 1, state a specific business
question the organisation currently needs to make, and how big data are expected to
improve its quality. This should include:
• A statement of major strategic questions and how the financial and non-financial
data are currently used in respective decision making;
• Statement of a particular business question selected for data analysis, and its
critical importance for the organisational competitive advantage or performance
improvement;
• Identification of a specific data set to be analysed for addressing the stated
question. The assignment must utilise a large data set obtained from the chosen
organisation.
(700 words)
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materials or this publication may be reproduced, shared (including in private social media groups), stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or means,
including without limitation electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written consent of Arden University. To find out more about
the use and distribution of programme materials please see the Arden Student Terms and Conditions.
Version: V5
(20 marks)
(LO:4)
Task 3
Describe a relevant dataset to be used in the proposed data analytics project, including:
• Discussion of business-related information the data set represents;
• Explanation how it has been obtained;
• Analysis of how representative the data set is, and potential limitations
associated with its application.
(500 words)
(20 marks)
(LO:1)
Task 4
Discuss data mining procedures with the dataset in question, performed using
analytical software (e.g. Excel, SPSS and / or Weka), which should include:
• Data preparation, cleaning and filtering;
• Statement of immediate observations of business performance using
descriptive data analysis;
• Development of an organisation’s forecast report based on inferential statistics
and/or machine learning, resulting in addressing the business question stated
in Task 2.
NB: this discussion must be supported extensively by tables, charts and diagrams
demonstrating how the outcomes of analysis performed in the previous task can be
interpreted.
(1800 words)
(25 marks)
(LO:2)
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materials or this publication may be reproduced, shared (including in private social media groups), stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or means,
including without limitation electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written consent of Arden University. To find out more about
the use and distribution of programme materials please see the Arden Student Terms and Conditions.
Version: V5
Task 5
Based on the outcomes of Task 4, suggest how the business question stated in Task
2 should be answered. Then recommend how data analytics can improve the decision
making based on the analysis described earlier as well as propose the deployment of
extra data sources potentially capable of further augmenting the organisational big data
analytics framework.
(1000 words)
(15 marks)
(LO:1 and LO:4)
This module is marked using the Arden University Categorical Marking Criteria
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Arden University © reserves all rights of copyright and all other intellectual property rights in the learning materials and this publication. No part of any of the learning
materials or this publication may be reproduced, shared (including in private social media groups), stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or means,
including without limitation electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written consent of Arden University. To find out more about
the use and distribution of programme materials please see the Arden Student Terms and Conditions.
Version: V5
Formative Feedback
You have the opportunity to submit an outline and up to 50% of each task to receive
formative feedback.
The feedback is designed to help you develop areas of your work and it helps you
develop your skills as an independent learner.
If you are a distance learning student, you should submit your work, by email, to your
tutor, no later than 2 weeks before the actual submission deadline. If you are a blended
learning student, your tutor will give you a deadline for formative feedback and further
details.
Formative feedback will not be given to work submitted after the above date or the date
specified by your tutor - if a blended learning student.
Referencing Guidance
You MUST underpin your analysis and evaluation of the key issues with appropriate
and wide ranging academic research and ensure this is referenced using the AU
Harvard system(s).
Follow this link to find the referencing guides for your subject: Arden Library
Submission Guidance
Assignments submitted late will not be accepted and will be marked as a 0%
fail.
Your assessment can be submitted as a single Word (MS Word) or PDF file, or, as
multiple files.
If you chose to submit multiple files, you must name each document as the question/part
you are answering along with your student number ie Q1 Section A STUXXXX. If you
wish to overwrite your submission or one of your submissions, you must ensure
that your new submission is named exactly the same as the previous in order for
the system to overwrite it.
You must ensure that the submitted assignment is all your own work and that all
sources used are correctly attributed. Penalties apply to assignments which show
evidence of academic unfair practice. (See the Student Handbook which is available
on the A-Z key information on iLearn.)
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Arden University © reserves all rights of copyright and all other intellectual property rights in the learning materials and this publication. No part of any of the learning
materials or this publication may be reproduced, shared (including in private social media groups), stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or means,
including without limitation electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written consent of Arden University. To find out more about
the use and distribution of programme materials please see the Arden Student Terms and Conditions.
Version: V5
Assessment Criteria (Learning objectives covered – all).
Level 7 is characterised by an expectation of students’ expertise in their specialism. Students are semi-autonomous, demonstrating independence in the
negotiation of assessment tasks (including the major project) and the ability to evaluate, challenge, modify and develop theory and practice. Students are
expected to demonstrate an ability to isolate and focus on the significant features of problems and to offer synthetic and coherent solutions, with some
students producing original or innovative work in their specialism that is potentially worthy of publication by Arden University. A clear appreciation of
ethical considerations (as appropriate) is also a prerequisite.
Grade Mark Generic Assessment Criteria
Bands
Distinction 80%+ Outstanding analysis of key issues and concepts/. Outstanding development of conceptual structures and argument, making
consistent use of scholarly conventions. Outstanding research skills, independence of thought, an extremely high level of
intellectual rigour and consistency, exceptional expressive / professional skills, and outstanding creativity and originality.
Outstanding academic/intellectual skills. Work pushes the boundaries of the discipline and demonstrates an awareness of
relevant ethical considerations. Work may be considered for publication by Arden university.
70-79% Excellent analysis of key issues and concepts/. Excellent development of conceptual structures and argument, making
consistent use of scholarly conventions. Excellent research skills, independence of thought, an extremely high level of intellectual
rigour and consistency, exceptional expressive / professional skills, and substantial creativity and originality.
Excellent academic/intellectual skills. Work pushes the boundaries of the discipline and demonstrates an awareness of relevant
ethical considerations. Work may be considered for publication by Arden university..
Merit 60-69% Very good level of competence demonstrated. High level of theory application. Very good analysis of key issues and
concepts. Development of conceptual structures and argument making consistent use of scholarly conventions. Some evidence
of original thought and a general awareness of relevant ethical considerations.
Pass 55-59% A good performance. A good knowledge of key issues and concepts. Fairly descriptive, with some analysis of existing scholarly
material, and some argument development. Limited evidence of original thought. Some awareness of relevant ethical
considerations. Good professional skills (where appropriate).
Pass 50-54% A satisfactory performance. Basic knowledge of key issues and concepts. Generally descriptive, with restricted analysis of
existing scholarly material and little argument development. Use of scholarly conventions inconsistent. The work lacks original
thought. Limited awareness of relevant ethical considerations. Satisfactory professional skills (where appropriate).
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Arden University © reserves all rights of copyright and all other intellectual property rights in the learning materials and this publication. No part of any of the learning materials or this publication may be reproduced, shared (including in private social media groups), stored
in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or means, including without limitation electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written consent of Arden University. To find out more about the use and distribution of programme materials
please see the Arden Student Terms and Conditions.
Marginal 40-49% Limited research skills impede use of learning resources and problem solving. Significant problems with structure/accuracy in
Fail expression. Very weak academic professional skills. Limited use of scholarly conventions. Errors in expression and the work may
lack structure overall
Clear Fail 39% and A poor performance in which there are substantial gaps in knowledge and understanding, underpinning theory and ethical
below considerations. Little evidence of research skills, use of learning resources and problem solving. Major problems with structure/
accuracy in expression. Professional skills not present. Very weak academic professional skills. No evidence of use of scholarly
conventions.
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Arden University © reserves all rights of copyright and all other intellectual property rights in the learning materials and this publication. No part of any of the learning materials or this publication may be reproduced, shared (including in private social media groups), stored
in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or means, including without limitation electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written consent of Arden University. To find out more about the use and distribution of programme materials
please see the Arden Student Terms and Conditions.
