Postgraduate Course: Introduction to Scientific Data (PGPH11068)
Course Outline
| School | School of Physics and Astronomy |
College | College of Science and Engineering |
| Course type | Standard |
Availability | Not available to visiting students |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
Credits | 10 |
| Home subject area | Postgraduate (School of Physics and Astronomy) |
Other subject area | None |
| Course website |
None |
Taught in Gaelic? | No |
| Course description | This course introduces a number of issues relating to the use of data in e-Science, through a combination of case studies and consideration of generic principles and problems. The course will cover the passage of data from its rawest state to its publication and curation in archival form. General issues to be addressed in this process include the tracking of provenance and the versioning of both data products and data analysis software, as both contribute to the concepts of integrity, validation and reproducibility, which are crucial to the use of data as scientific evidence. This course will also cover a variety of formats and structures used to store scientific data (e.g. relational database management systems and files), the ways in which they can be accessed and integrated, and the responsibilities of the curators of archival data. Throughout this course an emphasis will be maintained on those scientific data issues which are most relevant to e-Science applications, which tend to be characterised by the integration of distributed data sources of significant size and/or complexity. |
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | Only postgraduates or final year MPhys students with suitable computational background, subject to space restrictions and agreement with relevant Programme Coordinator. |
| Additional Costs | None |
Course Delivery Information
| Not being delivered |
Summary of Intended Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, students should be able to:
1. Demonstrate an understanding of the salient issues relating to the use of data in the scientific process.
2. Compare and contrast a range of formats and structures used to store scientific data and the ways that they can be accessed and integrated.
3. Illustrate how the generic problems of data curation and manipulation are addressed within several scientific disciplines.
4. Demonstrate an awareness of standard representations for data and metadata.
5. Design relational and XML schemas for scientific data and metadata.
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Assessment Information
| Written examination of two-hour duration (50%) and coursework (50%). |
Special Arrangements
| None |
Additional Information
| Academic description |
Not entered |
| Syllabus |
Not entered |
| Transferable skills |
Not entered |
| Reading list |
Not entered |
| Study Abroad |
Not entered |
| Study Pattern |
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| Keywords | Not entered |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Bob Mann
Tel: (0131) 668 8338
Email: |
Course secretary | Mrs Jane Patterson
Tel: (0131 6)50 5273
Email: |
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