Why and How Users Map Data Should be Protected Memo

In lieu of a traditional research paper, the capstone project for this course is a 1,000-word “vignette:” a brief exposition of a specific ethical or social problem intrinsically related to data science, with a practical intent. In essence, the vignette can be thought of as a kind of public service announcement, which enlists your own budding expertise as a data scientist to help foster public conversation and democratic deliberation. It represents an opportunity for you to develop a crucial but often overlooked dimension of scientific expertise: the ability to communicate expert knowledge to non-experts in order to help shape—but not control—public conversation and effectively promote social change.

Although the vignette should be practical and “solution-oriented,” you are not being asked to offer your audience a simple solution to your identified problem. Such a task would exceed what you can realistically achieve in 1,000 words. Instead, the point is to clarify the most significant features of a relevant problem using the analytical tools learned in the course so as to highlight what you take to be the most promising avenues for collectively addressing it.

Shorter and less formal than a standard academic paper, the vignette nonetheless draws on substantial independent research, which you will conduct throughout the semester. With the guidance and help of your classmates , you will develop your vignette through a series of graduated stages, from developing a topic, articulating a concise thesis, and writing an annotated bibliography to producing a rough draft for peer review.

Since the HCE vignette is an unusual format for a research paper assignment, we will ask that you choose one of three basic “templates” to follow to help you structure your vignette with a specific audience in mind:

1. Write an op-ed for a newspaper aimed at your fellow students or a specific public (Suggestion: avoid writing to the “everybody” or the “public”).
2. Write an internal memo to be circulated among employees of a particular company regarding that company’s work.
3. Write a policy paper that makes recommendations to government legislators or regulators.