Project: Process Paper

Python

Due Dec. 13
project

Project Overview

Tip

This assignment must be completed in the assignment.ipynb file provided in the GitHub repository created when you accepted this assignment.

I will NOT grade any other file.

These instructions are also included in the README.md file in the repository for your reference.

For more on connecting to the GitHub repository, see below.

This process paper is a time for you to discuss the process you took personally to get to the final project. Why did you choose the data you chose? How well did it work for your question? Did you need (or want) to change your question as you evaluated your data more? What provided you with particular difficulties or struggles? How did you overcome those challenges? What parts were the easy parts?

This paper should be a minimum of 300 words. It should be turned in via a .ipynb file, so you can demonstrate some of the issues with code, or you can use it to show things you thought were particularly interesting, but might not have found their way into the final project.

Think of this as a reflection on the process you went through to get to the final project. You should be familiar with reflections at this point in your Queens career.

Process Paper Rubric

Criteria 3 Points 2 Points 1 Point
Word Count The paper exceeds 300 words. N/A The paper is less than 300 words.
Question The paper clearly states the reason the student chose their question and why they think it is important. The paper discusses their question but not in an engaging and thoughtful manner. The paper does not discuss the reason for their question or its importance.
Data Choice The paper clearly explains why the data chosen was appropriate for the question being asked, how they found it, and why they chose it. The paper discusses the data but not in a thorough and thoughtful manner. The paper does not discuss the data choice or its appropriateness for the question.
Process Explanation The student provides a clear and thorough explanation of their process in approaching the data problem, including steps taken and reasoning behind decisions to get to their final solution. The student provides a general explanation of their process in approaching the data problem, but lacks detail or clarity in some areas. The student provides a vague or incomplete explanation of their process in approaching the data problem.
Problems Faced The paper demonstrates a significant engagement with the problems the student faced while solving their data problem. The paper pays lip service to the problems the student faced while solving their data problem. The paper does not discuss any problems the student faced while solving their data problem.

GitHub Classroom

This assignment uses GitHub Classroom. GitHub Classroom is a tool that helps instructors manage coding assignments using GitHub repositories. When you accept the assignment, GitHub Classroom will create a private repository for you where you can work on your code. To complete this assignment you will have to accept the assignment, clone the repository to your local machine, complete the assignment, and then commit and push your changes back to GitHub.

To accept the assignment, go to the assignment page on Canvas and click on the link to create the GitHub repository.

Note

Part of this assignment is not just completing the coding tasks, but also learning how to use GitHub and Git for version control. Make sure to follow the instructions carefully and reach out to me if you encounter any issues.

Understand, problems with Git/GitHub are not an excuse for late work. Plan ahead to ensure you have time to resolve any issues that may arise. In industry, version control is an essential skill, and being proficient with these tools is crucial for collaboration and project management. Moreover, technology issues (including those with GitHub) will never be accepted as an excuse for missing deadlines. This is a programming class. The technology is part of the assignment.

If technology difficulties arise, I’m happy to help, but before deadlines (not after).

Cloning the Repository

Once you have accepted the assignment, a new repository titled - will be created in your GitHub account. You can log in to GitHub to view the repository. You will need to clone this repository to your local machine to work on the assignment. Follow these steps to clone the repository:

  1. Open VS Code
  2. Press Ctrl+Shift+P (or Cmd+Shift+P on Mac) to open the command palette.
  3. Type Git: Clone and select it.
  4. Select Clone from GitHub...
  5. You might be prompted to sign in to GitHub if you haven’t already.
  6. After signing in to GitHub, you will need to follow steps 1-4 again to clone the repository.
  7. You should receive a list of your repositories. Select the repository for this assignment.
    1. If you do not see your repository, you can copy the URL from GitHub and paste it into the prompt in VS Code.
  8. Choose a local directory where you want to clone the repository.
    1. Choose the folder location carefully. File management is incredibly important in programming, and it is best to keep all your assignments for this class in one folder.
    2. Make sure NOT to clone the repository into another repository.
  9. Click Select Repository Location to complete the cloning process.

Committing and Pushing Changes

In order to submit your assignment, you will need to commit any changes you make to your local repository and push them to GitHub. Committing saves your changes to the local repository, while pushing uploads those changes to the remote repository on GitHub. In other words, just saving your files is not enough. Saving updates the files on your computer, but when you commit those saves, you are creating a snapshot of your project at that point in time. Think of a commit like a save point in a video game that you can always return to. Remember, you can commit multiple changes to multiple files at once You should commit your changes to the repository often, especially after completing significant portions of the assignment. To do so, follow these directions.

  1. Click the Source Control icon in the Activity Bar on the side of VS Code (it looks like a branch with a dot at the end). You should see a list of files that have been changed.
  2. Stage changes to be committed. Not all files need to be in every commit. You can stage individual files by hovering over the file name and clicking the plus (+) icon that appears, or you can stage all changes at once by clicking the plus (+) icon next to the “Changes” header.
  3. Enter a commit message in the text box at the top of the Source Control panel that describes the changes you made. A good commit message is concise yet descriptive, such as “Completed function to calculate average” or “Fixed bug in data processing loop.”
  4. Press the blue button below the commit message box that looks like a checkmark to commit your changes.
  5. After committing, these changes are still only saved locally. The blue button below the commit message input box now states “Sync Changes” with an up and down arrow icon. Click this button to push your committed changes to the remote repository on GitHub. You may be prompted to sign in to GitHub again if you haven’t done so recently.
  6. Check the GitHub repository online to ensure your changes have been pushed successfully. If you cannot see your changes online, try refreshing the page. If you still cannot see your changes, the process was not completed successfully, and you should try pushing again.