BUA 455
  • This website provides semester-long access to BUA 455 lecture slides, notes, and R code files, regardless of access to Blackboard.
  • Syllabus and Course Links
  • Lecture Material
  • Homework Assignments
  • Dashboard Project
  • Interesting Data
  • Dashboard Examples
Professor Pooler (pspooler@syr.edu) - Office: WSOM Room 518
  • In-Person Hours: Tue. Thu. 5:00 PM - 5:45 PM
  • Zoom Hours: Mon. Wed. 4:30 PM - 5:30 PM - Zoom Hrs. Link
  • Also available by appointment on Zoom or in-person
Teaching Assistant: Available by Appt.
  • Arjun Pendharkar - apendhar@syr.edu
Spring 2026 Syllabus
  • NOTE: The order of the material varies slightly between semesters so the subjects covered in the syllabus may be updated as the semester progresses. I will always let you know if there are substantial changes.
Spring 2026 Absence Explanation Form
  • If you are absent or have a temporary technical issue with POLL EVERYWHERE, use this Google form to explain.
Spring 2026 BUA 455 Blackboard Site
  • Engagement Questions, Assignments, and Tests will be submitted on Blackboard.
White Paper about Analytics Skillset
  • Starting on page 8 (10th document page), this paper provides specific language about different roles in data analytics.

  • This section may be helpful as you try to explain your skillset in interviews.

Read this letter about AI
  • Using AI in coding and writing is commonplace and helpful if used cautiously and ethically.

  • This is a great ‘letter’ from a high school student who ‘broke up’ with AI because she felt it was supplanting her own voice. It’s worth your time to read and consider it.

Permananent BUA 455 Website
  • This link provides permanent access to the most recent lecture slides, notes, and R projects after the semester has ended.

  • Homework assignments, practice questions, and project information are not included on the permanent site.

Required Software Links
  • R - Required all semester

  • RStudio - Required all semester

  • Quarto - Required after HW 1

  • Posit Cloud - Required after Fall Break but can be used sooner if needed.

    • Student Subscription required for project after Fall Break.

  • RPubs - Required after Quiz 2
Software Training
  • LinkedIn Learning - Free for Syracuse University Students, Staff, and Faculty

    • R for Data Science: Analysis and Visualization
      • This training is optional and provides a good introduction to R and RStudio which are used in this course.
    • Python Essential Training
      • Python is not used in this course but it is helpful for analytics and data science.

  • DataCamp
    • An excellent (but not free) online learning center for many software packages. Costs can be subsidized (see below).

  • Whitman WIRE Initiative
    • The WIRE initiative will subsidize costs of online software training that results in certification.

    • Contact their office to arrange a meeting and develop a plan.


  • SU Open Source Program Office (OSPO)
    • OSPO offers workshops in open source software such as R/RStudio, Python, Github and facilitates communication between open source software users on campus.
Poll Everywhere

My User Name: penelopepoolereisenbies685


This website was last updated on Monday, February 23, 2026.
  • Week 7: Time Series, Data Formats, Output Formats, Project Introduction
    • Slides
    • Notes
    • Notes PDF
    • Week 7 Zipped R Project to Download

  • Week 6: Reshaping. Cleaning, and Joining Data
    • Slides
    • Notes
    • Notes PDF
    • Week 6 Zipped R Project to Download
    • Video Recordings
      • Lecture 11 - 2026-02-17 - 12:30 PM
      • Lecture 12 - 2026-02-19 - 12:30 PM

  • Week 5: Cheat Sheets, AI, Functions, and Review
    • Slides
    • Notes
    • Notes PDF
    • Week 5 Zipped R Project to Download
    • Video Recordings
      • Lecture 9 - 2026-02-10 - 12:30 PM

  • Week 4: Combining Skills and Quiz Review
    • Slides
    • Notes
    • Notes PDF
    • Week 4 Zipped R Project to Download
      • Unzip and save unzipped project folder to BUA 455 folder on your desktop.
    • Video Recordings
      • Lecture 7 - 2026-02-03 - 12:30 PM
      • Lecture 8 - 2026-02-05 - 12:30 PM

  • Week 3: Reshaping and Summarizing Data
    • Slides
    • Notes
    • Notes PDF
    • Week 3 Zipped R Project to Download
      • Unzip and save unzipped project folder to BUA 455 folder on your desktop.
    • Video Recordings
      • Lecture 5 - 2026-01-27 - 12:30 PM
      • Lecture 6 - 2026-01-29 - 12:30 PM

  • Week 2: Introduction to dplyr commands and ggplot
    • Slides
    • Notes
    • Notes PDF
    • Week 2 Zipped R Project to Download
      • Unzip and save unzipped project folder to BUA 455 folder on your desktop.
    • Video Recordings
      • Lecture 3 - 2026-01-20 - 12:30 PM
      • Lecture 4 - 2026-01-22 - 12:30 PM

  • Week 1: R Projects, R Quarto Files, and R Syntax
    • Slides
    • Notes
    • Notes PDF
    • Week 1 Zipped R Project to Download
      • Unzip and save unzipped project folder to BUA 455 folder on your desktop.
    • Video Recordings
      • Lecture 1 - 2026-01-13 - 12:30 PM
      • Lecture 2 - 2026-01-15 - 12:30 PM
      • NOTE: In response to a request, captions will be included in videos going forward. Please note that the captions are 96-97% accurate, but not perfect and the accuracy may decrease when I use technical terminology. Please let me know if you have a question.

  • Homework 4:
    • HW 4 Instructions
    • HW4_Template.qmd
    • DATA: HW4_data_files.zip - Unzip and save 3 data files to data folder
    • R Project - README Template.txt
    • HW 4 Demo Video Playlist

  • Homework 3:
    • HW 3 Instructions
    • HW3_Template.qmd
    • DATA: Box_Office_Mojo_Week3_HW3.csv - Save to data folder
    • R Project - README Template.txt
    • HW 3 Demo Video Playlist

  • Homework 2:
    • HW 2 Instructions
    • HW2_Template.qmd
    • R Project - README Template.txt
    • HW 2 Demo Video Playlist

  • Homework 1 - Parts 2 and 3:
    • HW 1 Instructions
    • HW1_SETUP.txt
    • HW 1 Demo Video Playlist
Full Project Description and Grading Criteria
Purpose(s):
  • This Data Dashboard group project (23% of course grade) serves two purposes in the BUA 455 curriculum:

    1. Students will better understand the whole data management process and how to make good choices at each step to make the work process more efficient and reproducible.

    2. Students will learn about the interactive components of a data management and visualization project, i.e., a dashboard, including how to communicate with technically knowledgeable colleagues and non-technical audiences.

Description of Project:
  • Student groups will develop a Data Dashboard.

  • In class, we will review how to use the Quarto Dashboard format to publish a multi-page dashboard.

  • Each group will aggregate, manage, and curate data for a hypothetical client to address their data questions and needs.

  • One person in each group should ideally will oversee the project as a whole and ensure that the dashboard is cohesive.

  • Each page can present a single plot, a set of plots, or a plot and a table, and should have explanatory text and citations for data sources if needed.

  • The final page of your dashboard will include all citations for software, software packages, AI sources, and data used to create your dashboard. AI sources, and data used to create your dashboard.

NOTES:
  • Many data sources provide data in a downloadable format such as Excel (.xlsx) or .csv. I recommend saving data as CSV UTF-8 files with a .csv postscript.

  • The list below is in alphabetical order and is not an exhaustive list.

  • Some data sources do not provide data in a downloadable format so the data values have to be scraped from the website.

Billboard
  • Scraping required
BEA - Bureau of Economic Analysis
BLS- Bureau of Labor Statistics
Box Office Mojo
  • Scraping required but it’s straightforward.
Competence Centre on Composite Indicators and Scoreboards
  • Great source for unusual datas
Data World
  • An ecclectic library of data that can be searched by topic of interest
Department of Energy - Prices & Trends
Eurostat
  • A wide variety of data about Europe can be accessed at this site.

  • Aanalogous to US.Gov for the United States.

Federal Reserve Data
Kaggle
  • An ecclectic library of data that can be searched by topic of interest
  • Kaggle also holds competitions where data scientists can win money and build a reputation
Our World in Data
  • Good source for geographic and demographic data
Sports Reference
  • Scraping required
  • Wide range of sports data
Statista
  • Syracuse University Libraries provides paid membership access
  • Use link above and then sign in with SU NetID and Password
  • Excellent resource for public and private sector data
U.S. Energy Information Administration
  • Excellent information on electricity usage by location or region.
Data.Gov - Data and Statistics about the U.S.
  • Includes MANY topics including BLS, DOE, and EIA above
Yahoo Finance
  • Stock data can be directly imported into R as an xts dataset
  • HW 5 - Part 1 - Quarto Publish
  • HW 5 - Part 1 - RPubs

  • Dashboard Example 1
    • This group created a highly customized color scheme which is not required.

    • Groups can use one of the many packaged dashboard themes that work really well.

    • Overall, this is excellent work but dashboards should be less wordy.


  • Dashboard Example 2
    • This group used the default theme which is fine, but it is easy to change.

    • Overall, this is also excellent work, but again, a little too wordy.

    • The perceptive depth of the analysis in the plots made this project stand out.


  • Dashboard Example 3
    • This group used a packaged dashboard theme and complementary color pallettes that enhanced their dashboard.

    • This group also did an excellent job of editing the text and almost all of the pages are well arranged.

    • The data management in the dashboard was excellent. If this was a graduate class, I would encourage the students to go further with the analyses. I also might suggest more advanced plots and subsequent data exploration suggested by the work they had already completed.


  • Dashboard Example 4
    • This group did some interesting work and I am including this example because it corresponds to the example memos provided later in the semester.

  • Presentation to 6th Grade Class
    • In May of 2025, I asked two sixth grade classes to complete an anonymous survey and then I created a dashboard from their responses using the same criteria required for your projects.

    • This dashboard is posted on GitHub.

    • I will be using GitHub as the sole platform in a course I am developing, Interactive Exploratory Data Analysis.