Welcome to DATASCI 350! This course introduces key tools in modern data science, focusing on three essential aspects: reliability, reproducibility, and robustness. We will cover the command-line interface, version control with Git and GitHub, and reproducible reports using Quarto and Jupyter Notebooks. You will then work with language models, first running one on your own laptop with Ollama, then calling hosted models from Python, and finally building a small retrieval system over your own documents. We will rent machines in the cloud with Amazon Web Services, collect data from web APIs with requests, and query and process it at scale with DuckDB and Dask. We finish with Docker and containerisation.
We will meet every Tuesday and Thursday from 5:30pm to 6:45pm in Math & Science Center, Room W301. Classes run from August 27 to December 8, 2026.
Contact Information
Instructor
- Name: Danilo Freire
- Email:
danilo.freire@emory.edu - Office Hours: By appointment at your convenience, please email me to schedule a meeting
Learning Outcomes
By the end of this course, students will be able to:
- Use the command line interface to manage files and directories.
- Work with version control systems to track changes in code and collaborate with others.
- Create reproducible reports and presentations.
- Use language models and coding agents responsibly to assist with programming tasks.
- Collect data from web APIs and web pages, and process it at scale.
- Understand the basics of containerisation and parallel computing.
Website Structure
This website contains the course syllabus, lecture materials, tutorials, and assignments for the course. The course repository at https://github.com/danilofreire/datasci350 is similarly structured. Feel free to explore the materials and use them as needed.
Getting Help
If you encounter any issues with the course materials or have questions about the content, please:
- Check the course syllabus and this README for relevant information
- Review the lecture materials and tutorials in the repository
- Consult with your classmates or post in the course discussion forum
- Attend office hours or schedule an appointment with the instructor
Contributing to the Repository
While this repository is primarily maintained by the course instructor, everyone is welcome to contribute. Please feel free to suggest improvements or report issues by opening a GitHub issue, submitting a pull request, creating a discussion post, or contacting the instructor directly.
License
This repository is licensed under the MIT License. You are free to use, modify, and distribute the materials as needed, with appropriate attribution to the original source.
We look forward to an engaging and productive semester! Happy coding!