64082 Brandyberry
MIS 64082 - Database Management Systems
SYLLABUS Spring 2015
COURSE INFORMATION:
Name of Course:
Database Management Systems
Term:
Spring 2015
Room:
Rm 215 Business Administration Building
Meeting Time:
6:35 pm- 9:20 pm M
Course Web Site:
http://learn.kent.edu
Prerequisites:
Graduate standing and permission of instructor.
Course Description:
The design, implementation and management of database management systems within organizations are studied from an applied perspective.
INSTRUCTOR INFORMATION:
Name of Instructor:
Dr. Alan Brandyberry
Office Address:
BSA A425
Telephone:
(330) 672-1146 (email strongly preferred)
Office Hours:
Mondays: 1:45 pm – 4:45 pm;
Wednesdays: 1:45 pm – 3:15 pm (and by appointment)
E-mail:
abrandyb@kent.edu (preferred contact method)
COURSE MATERIALS:
Required Text:
David M. Kroenke; David J. Auer, Database Processing: Fundamentals, Design and Implementation, 13th Edition, Prentice Hall, 2013 (ISBN-13: 978-0-13-305835-2)
Note for those opting for an electronic version of the book (if available): The required lockdown browser will not allow you to have your text open while taking quizzes (and they are open book). The work around is to use two computers – one for the quiz and one for the text. If you have only one computer available, you are advised to not opt for the electronic version.
COURSE OBJECTIVES, REQUIREMENTS & EVALUATION:
Learning Objectives:
Upon completion of this course, students will:
1. Understand the role of databases in business and other environments.
2. Be acquainted with the various concepts associated with designing, implementing, and using databases.
3. Understand the use of relevant analysis and design tools (e.g. entity relationship diagrams).
4. Obtain a working understanding of structured query language (SQL), normalization, transaction management and concurrency control.
5. Be acquainted with current areas of database research.
6. Be acquainted with current issues concerning data and database management (e.g. XML, analytics, business intelligence).
In order to succeed in this course, it is essential that you do the assignments (reading, written, and database assignments) independently and in a timely fashion and come to class consistently and well prepared for the topic(s) to be covered. In leading the class discussion I will assume that every student has prepared for the class ahead of time; therefore, if you are not prepared, you will not be able to follow the discussion and will quickly become "lost".
Class Format:
Students will read text chapters, participate in classroom lecture/discussion, complete homework for most chapters, and take a competency quiz online for each chapter in the schedule. A deeper understanding of the material will be assessed via a series of three practicums and a group project (see later sections).
The university and instructor are responsible for the technologies used in the course. If adjustments need to be made because some technology fails (such as the database server going down for extended periods), they will be. However, I cannot be responsible for the technologies used by the student. If your computer, network, or Internet connection fails you are still responsible for meeting deadlines and requirements. I suggest you have a contingency plan in place for such occurrences. Know where there are cybercafés or libraries that you can access the Internet from. Talk to friends that may allow you to use their equipment if yours fails, etc.
Homework:
Homework will be assigned on a regular basis. It is important to do practice problems to gain necessary skills as we go through many of these topics. Generally, the only reason homework such as this is graded is to motivate students to do it. It is my belief that graduate students should be self-motivated and realize the importance of these exercises. In line with that belief I will assign practice problems, I will distribute/publish solutions, and I will take questions on the problems in class, however, I will not collect and grade these problems.
Group Project:
See separate document for project specifications. Project specifications will be published before our second class. The group project is worth 100 pts and is due May 4th before class time.
Reading:
The chapter or portion of a chapter that is to be discussed in class should be read by the student before class.
Quizzes:
As was mentioned earlier, it is critical to come to class prepared. As such, quizzes will be employed to help confirm the student has read the chapter carefully before we discuss that chapter in class. Please note that the tentative schedule that appears in this syllabus is our plan but often plans do need a little restructuring. Therefore, be sure to keep aware of any changes in the class schedule. Generally quizzes are unlikely to be rescheduled to be earlier than the scheduled time. Occasionally we may have to move them to be later due to instructor absences (rare), weather cancellations (fairly common), or a topic simply took longer to cover than anticipated (common).
Quizzes will be online and multiple choice (one quiz per chapter). Since there is no way that I can ensure students are not accessing their texts during these quizzes I have designed this as open book. I am certain you understand that a multiple choice, open-book exam has little value if you can simply look up all the answers. Therefore, this necessitates implementing a time-limit for taking the quiz. The time-limit will be sufficient to answer each question from your own knowledge (generally 20 questions in 15 minutes). I am sure most of you will have sufficient time to look up a few answers but you will not be able to look up most or all of the answers during the quiz time. This means you should prepare for the quiz as if it were closed-book to maximize your score. The quizzes will use the ‘lockdown browser’ available on Learn to enhance security. You should not discuss question content with any other students (this would fall into the academic dishonesty section below). Also note that doing so may damage your own grade by making a grading curve less likely or at least higher. You may complete the quizzes any time prior to when we are scheduled to begin the chapter.
Exams:
This course employs three applied practicums. The three practicums will ask you to: 1) demonstrate database design skills; 2) demonstrate your ability to implement a database in an enterprise database environment database - using the database you create in practicum 1; 3) demonstrate structured query language (SQL) skills necessary to implement and interact with a database - using the database you implement in practicum 2.
Practicums 1 & 3 are in a closed-book format and will be taken in-class. Practicum 2 utilizes more of a project rather than an exam format. Each of these is detailed below.
All Practicums will be done individually. Any help provided to other students will likely lower your grade by raising theirs on any potential curve. It is easy to identify those who have worked together on these and this would be a serious academic honesty offense. Just don’t do it. Note that giving or receiving help is considered an equal offense.
Design and SQL Practicums (Practicums 1 & 3):
I have called these ‘practicums’ instead of exams because they will target very specific skills and knowledge rather than being a general examination on everything we have covered up until that point.
The first practicum will be a database design problem. Students will need to read a problem scenario and create an entity relationship diagram. Other ERD related problems will also be included.
The third practicum (practicum 2 is discussed below this section) is on structured query language (DML and DDL). Students will write SQL statements associated with the same database used for the first two practicums.
Oracle Implementation Practicum (Practicum 2):
Each student will implement a small database. Students should access these materials as soon as they are available. The practicum instructions will be available soon after the design practicum is completed (~March 10th ) and the practicum must be complete and submitted by class time on April 6th. Details will not be available earlier since the problem scenario used in the design practicum will be utilized for all other practicums – the solution for the design practicum will be the basis for the implementation practicum. Practicums will be graded on overall quality and the meeting of specific requirements.
Attendance:
Students are expected to attend class. Students are responsible for all in class announcements and material whether absence is excused or unexcused.
GRADES:
Design Practicum (#1)
100 pts. (20%)
Implementation Practicum (#2)
100 pts. (20%)
SQL Practicum (#3)
100 pts. (20%)
Quizzes (10)
100 pts. (20%)
Group Project
100 pts. (20%)
TOTAL
500 pts. (100%)
The following scale indicates the minimum course percentage required for each letter grade:
Letter-grade determinations will be made on the following percentage basis (your score rounded to the nearest whole number): A >93; A- 90-92; B+ 87-89; B 83-86; B- 80-82; C+ 77-79; C 73-76; C- 70-72; D+ 67-69; D 60-66 F <60. A lower curve may be substituted at the discretion of the instructor. Grade curving is only done at the end of the term for final grades. Do not try to anticipate the curve - target the score that will get you the desired grade on the straight scale above. Students are welcome at any time to inquire into their current grade status.
TENTATIVE SCHEDULE:
Day Topics Readings
Jan 12
Course Introduction,
Introduction to the Database Environment,
Introduction to Oracle SQL Developer and the Oracle Environment, preface to SQL.
Chapter 1
Jan 19
Martin Luther King Jr. Day Observance (no class)
Jan 26
Introduction to Structured Query Language (SQL)
Chapter 2
Feb 02
Introduction to Structured Query Language (SQL)
Chapter 2
Feb 09
The Relational Model and Normalization
Chapter 3
Feb 16
The Relational Model and Normalization,
Database Design Using Normalization
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Feb 23
Data Modeling and the Entity-Relationship Model
Chapter 5
Mar 02
Data Modeling and the Entity-Relationship Model
Catch-up and/or Review for Design Practicum
Chapter 5
Mar 09
Mar 10
Design Practicum
Implementation Practicum Begins (Due Apr 06)
Mar 16
Transforming Data Models into Database Designs,
Introduction of CREATE TABLE statements for Implementation Practicum
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Mar 23
Spring Break
Mar 30
SQL for Database Construction and Application Processing
Chapter 7
Apr 06
Database Redesign
Implementation Practicum Due at Class Time
Chapter 8
Apr 13
SQL Practicum
Group Project Consults After Practicum
Apr 20
Managing Multiuser Databases
Chapter 9
Apr 27
Big Data, Data Warehouses, and Business Intelligence Systems
Chapter 12
May 04
Time TBA
Group Project Presentations – Final Projects Due
The Following Policies Apply to All Students in this Course:
A. Students attending the course who do not have the proper prerequisite risk being deregistered from the class.
Students have responsibility to ensure they are properly enrolled in classes. You are advised to review your official class schedule (using Student Tools on FlashLine) during the first two weeks of the semester to ensure you are properly enrolled in this class and section. Should you find an error in your class schedule, you have until Sunday, January 25 , 2015 to correct the error. If registration errors are not corrected by this date and you continue to attend and participate in classes for which you are not officially enrolled, you are advised now that you will not receive a grade at the conclusion of the semester for any class in which you are not properly registered.
B. Academic honesty: Cheating means to misrepresent the source, nature, or other conditions of your academic work (e.g., tests, papers, projects, assignments) so as to get undeserved credit. In addition, it is considered to be cheating when one cooperates with someone else in any such misrepresentation. The use of the intellectual property of others without giving them appropriate credit is a serious academic offense. It is the University's policy that cheating or plagiarism result in receiving a failing grade for the work or course. Repeat offenses result in dismissal from the University.
C. For Spring 2015, the course withdrawal deadline is Sunday, March 22 , 2015.
D. Students with disabilities:
University policy 3342-3-01.3 requires that students with disabilities be provided reasonable accommodations to ensure their equal access to course content. If you have a documented disability and require accommodations, please contact the instructor at the beginning of the semester to make arrangements for necessary classroom adjustments. Please note, you must first verify your eligibility for these accommodations through Student Accessibility Services (contact 330-672-3391 or visit http://www.kent.edu/sas/index.cfm for more information on registration procedures).
