Year
2022Credit points
10Campus offering
No unit offerings are currently available for this unitPrerequisites
NilIncompatible
ISYS617 Data and Information Management
Teaching organisation
150 hours over a twelve-week semester or equivalent study period
Unit rationale, description and aim
Databases have become an essential technology for organisations to record, process and manipulate data and information efficiently, and preserving data quality and security. This unit will provide students with foundational knowledge and practical skills in database design and implementation. The unit further develops students’ skills in identifying and modelling organisational information requirements; designing conceptual data models and verifying their structural characteristics with normalisation techniques.
In this unit, students will explore both relational and non-relational data storage and toolsets, and learn to implement and use relational database technologies and Structured Query Language (SQL) in the cloud using Microsoft Azure. In addition, the unit introduces database administration activities and ethical consideration in handling organisational data. This unit is designed in alignment with Microsoft’s curriculum and provides a pathway to the DP-900: Microsoft Azure Data Fundamentals certification.
The aim of this unit is to provide students with the knowledge and skills needed to design, implement and administer large-scale database solutions to address data and information management needs of organisations while preserving data privacy and security to support dignity of humans served by the organisation.
Learning outcomes
To successfully complete this unit you will be able to demonstrate you have achieved the learning outcomes (LO) detailed in the below table.
Each outcome is informed by a number of graduate capabilities (GC) to ensure your work in this, and every unit, is part of a larger goal of graduating from ACU with the attributes of insight, empathy, imagination and impact.
Explore the graduate capabilities.
On successful completion of this unit, students should be able to:
LO1 - Describe core data concepts, how to work with relational and non-relational data and analytics workload on Microsoft Azure (GA5, GA8)
LO2 - Apply information requirements specification processes to capture the organisation information requirements and model them using conceptual data modelling techniques (GA5, GA10)
LO3 - Develop and implement a database solution using database and SQL (GA5, GA10)
LO4 - Select appropriate database tools to ensure data security and data quality for various types of database applications to ensure human dignity (GA1, GA5)
Graduate attributes
GA1 - demonstrate respect for the dignity of each individual and for human diversity
GA5 - demonstrate values, knowledge, skills and attitudes appropriate to the discipline and/or profession
GA8 - locate, organise, analyse, synthesise and evaluate information
GA10 - utilise information and communication and other relevant technologies effectively.
Content
Topics will include:
- Introduction to databases and database concepts
- Data types and unstructured/structured data
- Relational databases
- Non-Relational databases
- Conceptual and logical data models
- Normalisation of database tables
- Programming databases with Structured Query Language (SQL)
- Distributed and highly available databases
- Big data and scalable storage
- Modern data warehouses for data analytics and visualization
- Database security
- Professional and ethical issues in data management and its impact on human dignity
Learning and teaching strategy and rationale
Multimode
This unit will be delivered in multimode over a twelve-week semester or equivalent study period. Students will have access to all primary learning materials online through LEO, along with formative and summative assessments, all of which will be available online, to provide a learning experience beyond the classroom. Students will be required to attend fortnightly two-hour lab sessions, and weekly two-hour workshops which will include specific tasks related to achievement of the unit learning outcomes. Workshops facilitate learning by doing, which is particularly effective for information technology units as technical skills can be better learned through hands on practices.
Students should anticipate undertaking 150 hours of study for this unit, including class attendance, readings, online forum participation and assessment preparation.
ACU Online
This unit uses an active learning approach to support students in the exploration of knowledge essential to the discipline. Students are provided with choice and variety in how they learn. Students are encouraged to contribute to asynchronous weekly discussions. Active learning opportunities provide students with opportunities to practice and apply their learning in situations similar to their future professions. Activities encourage students to bring their own examples to demonstrate understanding, application and engage constructively with their peers. Students receive regular and timely feedback on their learning, which includes information on their progress.
Assessment strategy and rationale
The assessment strategy for this unit allows you to demonstrate a critical mindset in evaluating the impact of data and information management system and apply this knowledge to a variety of work situations. The first assessment provides students with an opportunity to apply database design and SQL through hands-on lab exercises. Assessment 2 allows students to demonstrate the depth of their knowledge and understanding of database technology concepts and tools through Microsoft Certification Exam. In assessment task 3, students will design a database for a given case study. It also requires developing queries to generate information and manipulate data.
The assessment tasks for this unit are designed for students to demonstrate their achievement of each learning outcome.
In order to pass this unit, students are required to:
- achieve an overall mark of at least 50%
- attempt all three assessment tasks
Overview of assessments
| Brief Description of Kind and Purpose of Assessment Tasks | Weighting | Learning Outcomes | Graduate Attributes |
|---|---|---|---|
Assessment Task 1: Database Lab Assessment This assessment consists of a series of weekly lab exercises including conceptual data modelling, D, physical database design using a RDBMS and data manipulation utilising SQL programming. This task requires students to demonstrate their theoretical knowledge and practical skills gained in the unit in the creation of a database and applying SQL programming. The feedback from this assessment will help students to apply the database concepts in the next assessment. Submission Type: Individual Assessment Method: Lab Practical Task Artefact: ER Diagram + SQL code | 30% | LO2, LO3 | GA5, GA8, GA10 |
Assessment Task 2: Certification Exam This assessment task requires student to undertake Microsoft Azure Data Fundamentals DP-900 Certification Exam. The exam assesses students’ foundational knowledge of core data concepts and how they are implemented using Microsoft Azure data services. This exam reports on a scale of minimum 100 and maximin 1000 with a passing score of 700. The exam contains 53 questions and students have 60 minutes to complete it. | 30% | LO1 | GA5, GA8 |
Assessment Task 3: Database Design and Implementation Project This assessment task consists of database logical and physical design activity as well as data manipulation and database administration. This task requires students to demonstrate their theoretical knowledge and practical skills gained in the unit in the creation of logical and physical database design based on the conceptual database design created in assessment 1 and utilising a RDBM and SQL programming. Students are required to create SQL queries to manipulate data and generate information, perform user account management, and enhance the security of the database. In addition, it requires a report detailing actions performed to improve security and demonstration of the understanding how organisations use, manage and secure data in organisations to maintain human dignity. Submission Type: Individual Assessment Method: Practical task Artefact: Database file+ SQL code+ Written report | 40% | LO2, LO3, LO4 | GA1, GA5, GA10 |
Representative texts and references
Cornonel C, Morris S and Rob R (2019) Database systems: design, implementation, and management, 13th edn, Course Technology, Boston, MA.
Silberschatz, Abraham, Henry F. Korth, and Shashank Sudarshan (2020) Database system concepts. 7th Edition, New York: McGraw-Hill.
Connolly TM & Begg D 2015, Database systems: a practical approach to design, implementation and management, 5th edn, Addison-Wesley, Boston, MA.
Elmasri R & Navathe S 2015, Fundamentals of database systems, 7th edn, Addison-Wesley, Boston, MA
Microsoft Online Materials:
- Azure Data Fundamentals: Explore core data concepts
- Azure Data Fundamentals: Explore relational data in Azure
- Azure Data Fundamentals: Explore non-relational data in Azure
- Azure Data Fundamentals: Explore modern data warehouse analytics in Azure