Integrative Data Science (B.A., B.S.)

An introduction to computational problem-solving using a programming language. Students learn the syntax and semantics of a language and apply these to the solution of mathematical problems. Students review mathematical concepts and use them as the basis of algorithmic solution during a hands-on lab. The course is recommended for all who wish to explore computer science.
Prerequisite(s): Math ACT score of at least 21 or permission of the instructor.
(Normally offered each fall semester.)

A disciplined approach to the development of programs to solve problems on a computer. Topics include data types, control structures, abstraction, and software development. A lab component introduces a high-level programming language and software tools.
Prerequisite(s): CMPSC 1000 Introduction to Computational Problem Solving or permission of the instructor.
(Normally offered each spring semester.)

A natural continuation of CMPSC 1500 Program Design concentrating on the motivation, design, implementation, and utilization of abstract data types. Topics include linked lists, stacks, queues, trees, and recursion. A lab component is incorporated.
Prerequisite(s): Grade of "C" or better in CMPSC 1500 Program Design.
(Normally offered alternate spring semesters.)

A study of data visualization, including principles and techniques. Students will analyze the effectiveness of visualizations, create a wide array of visualizations, and communicate a story through them.

Prerequisite(s): Grade of "C" or better in CMPSC 1500 Program Design and grade of "C" or better in one of the following statistics courses: BUSAD 2100 Business and Economic Statistics, MATH 1300 Statistics, POLSC 2000 Introduction to Political Science Statistics,PSYCH 2100 Psychological Statistics or SOC 2910 Social Statistics.

This course will review modern quantitative methods used in decision making. The intent is to expose the student to various modeling techniques and to apply these techniques using Excel. Topics include productivity and capacity analysis, forecasting, regression analysis, linear programming, PERT/CPM, and statistical process control.

Prerequisite(s): Grade of "C-" or better in BUSAD 2100 Business and Economic Statistics or ECON 2100 Business and Economic Statistics, MATH 1100 College Algebra or MATH 1600 Calculus I, or department chair permission.

(Normally offered each semester.)

An introduction to descriptive and inferential statistics. Topics include gathering, organizing, interpreting, and presenting data with emphasis on hypothesis testing as a method for decision making in the fields of business and economics. Procedures include z-tests, t-tests, ANOVAs, correlation, and simple regression.
Cross listed with ECON 2100.
Prerequisite(s): Demonstrated proficiency in high school algebra or permission of the instructor.
(Normally offered each semester.)

An introduction to statistics concepts with an emphasis on applications. Topics include descriptive statistics, discrete and continuous probability distributions, the central limit theorem, confidence intervals, hypothesis testing, and linear regression.
(Normally offered each fall semester.)

An introduction to basic probability and statistics concepts with an emphasis on applications. Topics include descriptive statistics, probability, Bayes' Theorem, discrete and continuous probability distributions, joint probability distributions, estimation and hypothesis testing.
Prerequisite(s): Grade of "C" or better in MATH 1610 Calculus II.
(Normally offered fall of even-numbered years.)

This course introduces students to the statistical analysis techniques that are most common in analyzing social and political data. Students will be introduced to the datasets and software most commonly used in quantitative political science analysis.
Prerequisite(s): Political Science major and POLSC 2300 Introduction To Political Science.
(Normally offered each fall semester.)

An introduction to descriptive and inferential statistics as decision-making guides in psychology and related fields. Topics include organization, analysis, presentation, and interpretation of data with emphasis on the hypothesis testing model of inference. Specific procedures include z-tests, t-tests, analysis of variance, and correlation. A laboratory section is required for computational experience.
Prerequisite(s): PSYCH 1010/PSYCH 1010FYW Introduction to Psychological Science and sophomore standing.
Recommended: College level mathematics course.
(Normally offered each semester.)

In this course students are introduced to descriptive and inferential statistics and their applications to sociological research. Statistical procedures include central tendency measures, variability, t-test, one-way ANOVA, correlation, regression, and chi square. The course also includes specific training in using SPSS for analysis.
Prerequisite(s): SOC 1110 Introduction to Sociology.
(Normally offered each spring semester.)

This studio art course provides an introduction to fundamental concepts and techniques for creative production + problem solving + presentation. We will aim to expand your understanding of what you can achieve and what interests you through experimentation with time, surface, and space as well as a thoughtful exploration of the elements and principles of 2D, 3D, and 4D art and design. While this course will cover some ideas of technique, materials, and process, this is primarily a course where our goal will be to develop our ideas and strategies for how to engage an artistic practice that takes place across material + dimensional boundaries based on the needs of "the work" and the concepts behind it.

Prerequisite(s): Permission of department chair.

This studio art course provides an introduction to digital concepts and techniques for creative media production + problem solving + presentation. Throughout the semester we will explore the possibilities for multifaceted, interdisciplinary, and complex forms of artistic practice. As participants in this journey we will aim to understand how we, as cultural producers, engage with media production + consumption, our relationship with digital platforms, and we will consider how digital tools have changed our experience of the world and how we can use these tools to create and comment on our experiences. Through technical demos you will be introduced to the software and techniques of digital processes for artists - including digital imaging, motion graphics, digital spaces, and editing for video and audio. While you will acquire skills that can be applied to the presentation and production of traditional art and graphic design, emphasis will be placed on digital technology as a distinct art medium, and its implications for creative expression and cultural production.

An introduction to management theory and practice. Students explore the history of management and the environment in which managers operate. Classroom discussion focuses on the basic managerial functions of planning, organizing, leading, and controlling.
(Normally offered each semester.)

This course provides an overview of leadership perspectives, frameworks and theories and also focuses on how communication is the essential tool for engaging in relational leadership processes. In the last 30 years information about leadership has exploded, and this class is designed to help you to be better consumers of information about leadership as well as to have a clearer and more useful repertoire of ideas, and practices to intentionally engage in the leadership process, no matter the role in which that engagement occurs. You will also spend time analyzing your own experiences, beliefs, and assumptions about leading, following and communicating effectively.

Students will create and deliver presentations for a variety of communication contexts and audiences. Skills in interviewing and group problem solving will be also be developed.
Prerequisite(s): Junior standing and instructor permission.
(Normally offered each semester.)

An advanced writing workshop covering rhetorical principles (invention, arrangement, style, presentation) of various disciplines. Students will complete writing projects related to their professional and civic interests.
Prerequisite(s): Junior standing.
(Normally offered alternate fall semesters.)

This course will provide an introduction and overview to the managing of information systems (MIS) in today's organizations. The focus is on the use of strategic information systems related to decision making processes and activities in the functional areas of organizations such as operations, management, and marketing.
Prerequisite(s): BUSAD 2500 Principles of Management or permission of the instructor.

This course is designed to help students understand, use, and evaluate the quantitative, qualitative, and rhetorical methods Communication scholars employ to investigate and write about their scholarship.  Application of each method will be achieved via a semester-long case study conducted at a Lincoln nonprofit organization.  Additionally, by reading a variety of social scientific research articles, students will understand how operational definitions, theories, research questions and hypotheses, a literature review, and data analysis work together to support written research reports or proposals.  The semester will culminate with an original scholarly research report using appropriate APA style. This report will also be presented in a public forum.
Prerequisite(s): Sophomore standing and COMM 2300 Communication Theory (may be taken concurrently) or permission of instructor.
(Normally offered each semester.)

This course will introduce new English majors and minors to the critical methodologies, concepts, and terminology needed for the analysis and discussion of literature and other cultural texts and to the kinds of research and scholarship they will be asked to do in their later coursework. Students will also learn about a range of career paths open to those with a background in English.
(Normally offered every spring semester.)

Research and Statistical Methods is designed for senior-level HHP majors to develop an understanding of the research process and the rationales for basic behavioral statistics in the field of exercise science. This class will focus on the creation of a research proposal for exercise science and on developing reading, writing, and practical skills to interpret and conduct research.

Prerequisite(s): HHP 3850 Biomechanics or HHP 4150 Physiology of Exercise.

(Normally offered each semester)

This course will focus on developing skills to conduct a research study, analyze results, and complete a research paper. Students will present their research proposal to recruit subjects, give an informal elevator speech regarding the state of their research project, and at the end of the course, formally present their research study at
the NWU Student Symposium.

Prerequisite(s): HHP 4800 Research And Statistical Methods.

(Normally offered each semester.)

The course introduces students to basic theoretical approaches to understanding the past. Special emphasis is placed on research methods, resources, and the composition of a research essay. This course is designed for majors and students interested in the theories and techniques used by historians. Course topics change yearly and include subjects such as the study of chattel slavery in the United States through the words and remembrances of enslaved people from 1600 to 1877 and the relationship between collective memories of the past and the development of identity at the national, local, and individual level.
This course will meet with HIST 3800A/HIST 3800B.

Design Labs is an intensive on-campus internship that bridges the humanities and science (technology) by offering real world design and marketing experience that challenges the status quo. Apply at: labs.iondesignco.com.
Prerequisite(s): Instructor permission only.

A study of topics of special interest in mathematics. Students begin the course by studying an advanced topic in mathematics. Students then work on individualized projects culminating in a symposium presentation and survey paper.
Prerequisite(s): Major in mathematics, senior standing, grade of "C" or better in either MATH 4200 Abstract Algebra I or MATH 4300 Real Analysis, and permission of the instructor.
(Normally offered each spring semester.)

This course teaches the basics of research in political science, including questions of design and measurement. Students will also learn different qualitative research designs such a focus groups, interviews, case studies, and field work.
Corequisite(s): POLSC 2000 Introduction to Political Science Statistics and POLSC 3020 Research Methods: Quantitative Research.
Prerequisite(s): Political Science major or department chair approval.

This course introduces quantitative research methodology and ways in which to design and implement quantitative and mixed methods research projects.

Corequisite(s): POLSC 2000 Introduction to Political Science Statistics and POLSC 3010 Research Methods: Qualitative Research.

Prerequisite(s): POLSC 2300 Introduction To Political Science and declared Political Science major or department chair approval.

A course designed to introduce, apply, and evaluate the basic research methods of psychology. Emphasis is placed upon problems of research design and analysis in the laboratory and in natural settings. Students conduct investigations applying various designs and methods building skills in interpreting findings and in written communications.
Three lectures and one lab per week.
Prerequisite(s): PSYCH 1010/PSYCH 1010FYW Introduction to Psychological Science and PSYCH 2100 Psychological Statistics.
(Normally offered each semester.)

In this course, students are introduced to quantitative research methods commonly used in social science research: survey research, experimental design, secondary analysis, and evaluation research. Emphasis is on survey research, including project design, questionnaire construction, sampling, data collection, statistical analysis, and formal presentation of results. Key elements of the course are learning to ask researchable questions and formulate testable hypotheses.

Prerequisite(s): SOC 1110 Introduction to Sociology and any Statistics course (SOC 2910 Social Statistics is preferred.)

Normally offered each fall semester.

In this course, students are introduced to qualitative research methods commonly used in social science research. Emphasis is on individualized project design, project construction, data analysis, and formal presentation of results. Course content includes exploration of observation, participant observation, ethnography, in-depth interviewing, focus groups, content analysis, case study, and online qualitative innovations in research.

Prerequisite(s): SOC 1110 Introduction to Sociology.

Normally offered each spring semester.

An introduction and overview of research methods used in generalist social work practice. Course content includes both quantitative and qualitative methods and emphasizes critiquing research, program evaluation, methods of data collection and analysis, single-subject design, ethical considerations, and the application of evidence-based practice to improve policy and social service delivery.
Prerequisite(s): Junior standing, SOCWK 1150 Introduction to Social Work, full admission to social work program, and one of the following Statistics courses: SOC 2910 Social Statistics or PSYCH 2100 Psychological Statistics or ECON 2100/ BUSAD 2100 Business and Economic Statistics or MATH 1300 Statistics.
(Normally offered each semester.)

A mentored research project satisfying the mutual interests of the mentor and student. Students will keep a reflection journal throughout the experience and give a conference-style presentation at the end of the course. P/F only.

Prerequisite(s): Instructor permission and completion of Research or Disciplinary Practice requirement.

On-the-job training in computer science in situations that satisfy the mutual interests of the student, the supervisor, and the instructor.
P/F only.
Prerequisite(s): Permission of the Program Director and junior or senior standing.