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#XSAVI 750 – Mining the Web: How to Scrape, Analyze & Map Open Data

###Pratt Institute, Center for Continuing and Professional Studies Spatial Analysis and Visualization Initiative (SAVI)

Instructor: Richard Dunks

Location: ISC Building, Lower Level, Room 003

Continuing Education Units (C.E.U.s): 3.0

Click for more information and to register

###Navigation

##Administrivia

###Course Overview This course introduces the tools, techniques, and general approaches used to acquire, clean, analyze, and visualize open data, with particular emphasis on using web-based technologies and open-source tools at each step of the process.

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###Learning Objectives

  • You will learn to formulate and articulate a meaningful research question with public open data, as well as meaningfully critique the work of others
  • You will learn how to acquire data through open data portals, application programmer interfaces (APIs), and scraping data from web sites
  • You will learn how to clean data using open source tools in preparation for analysis and visualization
  • You will learn how to conduct exploratory data analysis using descriptive statistics
  • You will learn to visualize your analytical findings in meaningful and visually-engaging graphics, as well as meaningfully critique the work of others
  • You will learn the basics of cartographic design as it relates to visualizing open data

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###Course Requirements All students will need to bring their own laptop for exercises during class. Time will be set aside to help install, configure, and run the programs necessary for all assignments, projects, and exercises. Where possible, all programs will be free and open-source. All assigned work using services hosted online can be run using free accounts.

You will be required to have free accounts with the following services:

Time will be set aside to help you register and setup these accounts, but please try to come to the first session having already registered for these servies.

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###Course Readings The required readings for this course consist of book chapters, newspaper articles, and short blog posts. The intention is to help give you a foundation in the critical skills ahead of class lectures. All required readings are available online or will be made available through the class portal. Recommended readings are suggestions if you wish to study further the topics covered in class. The books listed in the Suggested Readings section below offer even more depth and an extended discussion of the material we cover in class.

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###Class Format Class runs from 10 am to 5 pm, with the class time broken up into 50-minute blocks and a 10-minute break every hour. Class will be a mix of lecture and practical exercise work, emphasizing the application of skills covered in the lecture portion of the class. We will have an hour working lunch where you are free to work on class exercises or your final project. Attendance during the lunch hour is not required but encouraged if you’re having any issues with the course material.

I will also be available for questions or further assistance during lunch. You will have ample time in class to work on practical exercises based on the information presented in lectures. When possible, the final class hour of the day will be set aside for any additional questions or additional tutorials in tools, skills, or techniques. Please plan on attending the full day of class.

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###Submitting Assignments All assignments will be submitted by adding your content to the class page and issuing a "pull request" in the class repository. All of this will be explained, setup, and otherwise clarified on the first day of class. Assignments aren't considered submitted until the pull request has been issued. We will have ample time in class to address any technical issues and a reference guide for the process.

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###Assessment

Area Percentage
Attendance 20%
Class Participation 20%
Visualization Critiques 20%
Project Presentations & Visualization 40%

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###Class Policies ####Attendance and Tardiness
I expect you to attend every class, arriving on time and staying for the entire duration of class, except for the lunch break, when attendance is optional. Absences will only be excused for extreme circumstances coordinated in advance and you are responsible for making up any missed work. ####Participation I expect you to be fully engaged while you’re in class. This means asking questions when necessary, engaging in class discussions, participating in class exercises, and completing all assigned work. Learning will occur in this class only when you actively use the tools, techniques, and skills described in the lectures. I will provide you ample time and resources to accomplish the goals of this course and expect you to take full advantage of what’s offered. ####Late Assignments All assignments are to be published online before the start of class. Assignments posted by the end of the day Saturday will be marked down 10% and assignments posted at the end of Sunday will be marked down 20%. No assignments will be accepted for a grade after Sunday night. ####Office hours I won’t be holding regular office hours, but I’m happy to set up a time to meet in person, over the phone, or via Skype/Google Hangout if you have any problems. Please use Slack to reach out to me. I will also be available during the lunch hour and immediately following class to provide any assistance you may need.

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###Resources

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##Course Outline ####Topics will be covered that day in class. Reading Assignments are to be read before class in preparation of the lecture and exercises. Assignments are due before the start of the next class and build on the information presented in class.

######back to top ####Class 1 - September 12, 2015 ####Topics

  • What is open data?
  • Data on the web
  • Introduction to mapping
  • Introduction to open source tools and services for mapping and visualization
  • Introduction to HTML and CSS
  • Introduction to Git and Github

####Readings

####Assignments

  1. Complete the visualization started in class with data from an open data portal. Style the map in CartoDB and embed your visualization into the class page with short descriptive text on where you found the data, what you did to visualize the data, and any thoughts on what you've created.
  2. Find an interesting or visually compelling visualization online and write 2-3 paragraphs on the visualization, discussing the data source(s), the visual style, and how well the data was represented. Feel free to use the visualization resources listed above. Submit your text to the class page following the example shown.

####Resources

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####Class 2 - September 19, 2015 ####Topics

  • Introduction to scraping the web
  • Introduction to Python
  • Introduction to APIs
  • Cleaning data with OpenRefine and SQL

####Readings

####Assignments

  1. Using an API, either of an open data portal such as the NYC Open Data Portal or some other open data source, create a visualization of the data in CartoDB. Write a short description of the data, the API you used to access it, how you styled it, and the resulting visualization. Discuss other data you'd like to use or other techniques of cleaning the data to get your desired result. Submit your API code via the Slack channel in the format "_assignment2.py" if you do your API query in Python or "_assignment2.txt" if you did you query in OpenRefine.
  2. Find an interesting or visually compelling visualization online and write 2-3 paragraphs on the visualization, discussing the data source(s), the visual style, and how well the data was represented. Feel free to use the visualization resources listed above. Submit your text to the class page following the example shown.

####Resources

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####Class 3 - September 26, 2015

####Topics

  • (Re)Introduction to Basic Statistics
  • Analyzing Open Data
  • Basics of Visualization

####Readings

####Assignments

  1. Create another visualization that either improves on your initial visualization with more/better data or uses different sets of data. The visualization should incorporate at least 2 datasets and tell some interesting story, using a more sophisticated visual style that incorporates the elements of good design discussed in class. Discuss the datasets used, the visual design of the visualization, and why you found the data compelling in a short text description of the project.
  2. Find an interesting or visually compelling visualization online and write 2-3 paragraphs on the visualization, discussing the data source(s), the visual style, and how well the data was represented. Feel free to use the visualization resources listed above. Submit your text to the class page following the example shown.

####Resources

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####Class 4 - October 3, 2015

####Topics

  • Final project presentations
  • Course review
  • Advanced topics, to possibly include:
    • Introduction to Interactive Visualization of Data with D3 and Leaflet
    • Introduction to Spatial Databases
    • Advanced CartoDB (possible guest lecture)
    • Visualizing social media data

####Readings

  • Murray, Scott. Interactive data visualization for the Web. O'Reilly Media, Inc., 2013, ch 1-2

####Resources

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###Suggested Reading

  • Fry, Ben. Visualizing Data: Exploring and Explaining Data with the Processing Environment. O'Reilly Media, Inc., 2007.
  • Garrad, Chris. Geoprocessing with Python. Manning Publications Co., forthcoming. Janert, Philipp K. Data analysis with open source tools. O'Reilly Media, Inc., 2010.
  • McCallum, Q. Ethan. Bad Data Handbook: Cleaning Up The Data So You Can Get Back To Work. O'Reilly Media, Inc., 2012.
  • McKinney, Wes. Python for Data Analysis: Data Wrangling with Pandas, NumPy, and IPython. O'Reilly Media, Inc., 2012.
  • Munzner, Tamara. Visualization Analysis and Design. AK Peters, 2014.
  • Murray, Scott. Interactive data visualization for the Web. O'Reilly Media, Inc., 2013.
  • Tufte, Edward R., and P. R. Graves-Morris. The visual display of quantitative information. Vol. 2. Cheshire, CT: Graphics press, 1983.

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