Project Description

Note

Two tracks: build a Shiny app or produce a polished written report with a well-crafted visualization. Both tracks share the same proposal and studio weeks; app-specific material (styling, deployment, troubleshooting) is optional and linked from the Project Studio week for students building an app.

Overview

The capstone of this course is a final project that pulls together the whole arc of the course: getting and wrangling data, and visualizing it well. You have two tracks to choose from:

  • Shiny app — an interactive tool of your own design that lets a user explore a data set and come away having learned something, wrapped in an interactive interface.
  • Report — a polished written report built around at least one well-crafted, labeled visualization.

Both tracks share the same proposal and studio schedule. Much of the work happens in class during the project studio sessions in the second half of the term, so you will not be building it alone. Choose the app track if you want the challenge of interactivity; choose the report track if you’d rather put your energy into the writing and the visualization itself. Either way, see Final Project for the deliverable specifics.

Working in groups

You may complete the project on your own or in a group of up to three students. Groups are optional, but if you form one:

  • Keep it to three students maximum.
  • Divide the work clearly. In your proposal and again with your final submission, include a short statement of who is responsible for what (for example: data wrangling, UI design, server logic, write-up). Every member should contribute meaningfully to the code.
  • You will submit one app or report per group, and all members share the grade. Because of the group element, the project is weighted so that it is a meaningful—but not dominant—part of your grade.

What makes a good project

  • A clear question or theme a user can explore.
  • A data set that is comprehensive and convenient to work with (course data or another source—there is no time for original data collection).
  • At least one well-crafted, labeled visualization that responds to user input (app track) or anchors the write-up (report track).
  • App track: a thoughtful interface where the controls change the output in a way that teaches the user something. Report track: clear, well-supported writing that puts the visualization to work.

Deliverables

More Coming Soon!

For ideas about data to work with, see the Datasets page.