J.E.

Cairnes School of Business & Economics

MS805 Database Systems Module Outline 2024-2025

Database Systems
MS805
Module Outline 2024-2025

MS805 covers foundational topics of significance to database systems, notably:

Aims & relational database design, data modelling, normalisation, and the use of Structured
Objective Query Language (SQL). MS805 approaches these topics from a sociotechnical
perspective, i.e., taking into consideration both social and technical aspects.
Name Office Ext E-mail
Lecturer
Dr. Blair Wang Aras Cairnes 353 TBC [email protected]
Upon completion of this module, you will be able to:

1. Explain basic principles of relational database design.

2. Model data requirements using techniques such as Entity-Relationship and
UML Class Diagrams.
3. Apply the technique of normalisation to optimise data structures in
relational database design.
4. Understand how a relational database system enforces data integrity
constraints and transaction management rules.
5. Use the Structured Query Language (SQL) to create a relational database
with tables and views.
Overall Module 6. Use SQL to extract, summarise and aggregate data in a relational database.
Learning 7. Use advanced features of SQL such as fuzzy matching, spatial data queries,
Outcomes and triggers.
8. Understand principles of SQL query optimisation and indexes.

Database systems are of central importance to the modern infrastructure that

powers our individual lives and societal institutions. This module thus relates
principally to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of Industry,
Innovation & Infrastructure (SDG 9).

These are module-level learning outcomes. For programme-level learning outcomes,

please refer to the relevant information provided by your programme outline or
equivalent document.
Graduate Successful, fully engaged students have opportunities through the coursework and
Attributes the broader student experience to develop a wide range of knowledge, skills and
dispositions. Upon completion of this module, you will develop the following key
gradate attributes:

 “Knowledge — Problem solving — Ability to solve new challenges and

problems”

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J.E. Cairnes School of Business & Economics
MS805 Database Systems Module Outline 2024-2025

 “Skills — Critical thinking — Able to make sense of complex information from a

variety of sources”
 “Skills — Communication skills in a variety of contexts, styles and media”
 “Disposition — Global awareness — Appreciation of the Importance of place,
identity and culture in a global context”

The graduate attributes are examined through various forms of assessments (see
assessment section).
 MSc Information Systems Management
Programme(s)  MSc Business Analytics
 MSc Cybersecurity Risk Management
This module will be delivered on-campus. Students are expected to attend and
engage with class activities where appropriate.

Timetables are available online at https://www.universityofgalway.ie/business-

public-policy-law/cairnes/currentstudents/postgrad_timetables/ — if you
Delivery Format
experience any difficulty using this link, please contact the lecturer using the contact
details listed at the top of this document. Please ensure that your subject line begins
with “MS805” if you need to contact the lecturer for this purpose.

Map of University of Galway Campus and location of buildings is available here

Monitoring attendance has a positive impact on student engagement, especially
when you can review your own attendance on Canvas and receive emails about
absence. You should attend in-person on-campus for all aspects of this module
unless for legitimate reasons (for example, disability, medical, or family emergency)
which you have reported to the lecturer. To support students, the J.E. Cairnes
Attendance
School of Business & Economics will monitor attendance at classes to (i) identify
students that may be failing to engage with the programme and (ii) student
participation in various modules. Qwickly Attendance will be used within Canvas to
allow lecturers to take attendance at the module level, and for students to keep
track of the same. Lectures will outline instructions for attendance in class.
Readings for this module will be accessible to students through the University of
Galway Library service. These will be discussed in-class.

The optional textbook for this module is:

Core Text
Coronel, C. & Morris, S. Database Systems: Design, Implementation &
Management. ISBN13: 978-1-337-62790-0 (any recent edition)

This textbook is optional and it is listed here primarily for students who find it
helpful to follow along a textbook of relevance to module teaching materials.

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J.E. Cairnes School of Business & Economics
MS805 Database Systems Module Outline 2024-2025

End of Year Examination: 70%

Continuous Assessment: 30%

Details on the continuous assignments will be provided during the term. The
assessment are carefully designed to examine graduate attributes as follows:

Graduate Attribute Assessment

Problem solving — Ability to solve All Assessments

Knowledge
new challenges and problems
Assessment
Critical thinking — Able to make All Assessments
Skills sense of complex information from a
variety of sources

Global awareness — Appreciation of Continuous Assignment

Disposition the Importance of place, identity and only
culture in a global context

To avail of the associated marks each student must submit the assignment by the
date indicated on assessment material (to be announced).

Credit weighting 5 ECTS

Online weekly instructional hours 24 hours

Independent assignment work

30 hours
Workload (hours)

Independent study (hours) 52 hours

Associated hours 14 hours

Total Student Effort 120 hours

Plagiarism is the use of another person’s ideas or work without appropriate

acknowledgement or credit. Plagiarism may be intentional or unintentional.

If you are unsure of the acceptable methods of acknowledgment you should refer
Plagiarism to the University of Galway Code of Practice for Dealing with Plagiarism, consult
with your lecturer or the library staff. Proven plagiarism is a very serious matter
which may result in severe disciplinary action and/or exclusion from the University.

Ensure all assignment submissions include a signed plagiarism statement.

Correct referencing and citation avoids plagiarism. There are varying referencing
Referencing & styles available but the most popular is the Harvard Referencing Style. Details on
Citation how to reference journal articles, books, electronic information and various other
supports is available from the University of Galway Library here.
Canvas Ally Canvas Ally supports you to access more user-friendly file formats. Please contact
the lecturer if you experience any accessibility issues for this module material.
Should you have a visual disability and require the document in another format,

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J.E. Cairnes School of Business & Economics
MS805 Database Systems Module Outline 2024-2025

please contact the lecturer to explore alternative format options.

Support is available to students with a disability and is granted on the basis of
medical evidence. Where applicable, a LENS Report (Learning Educational Needs
Summary) should be completed and the relevant disciplines notified. It is your
responsibility to send your LENS report to your lecturers/ course coordinator at the
LENS Report
beginning of each semester. Students should let their lecturers know that relevant
exam accommodations are required. Lecturers can also request that students let
them know if they are registered with the Disability Support Service and have a LENS
Report.
We are guided by our core values of respect in our actions, excellence in our work,
openness in our outlook and sustainability in our approach. We focus on equality by
treating people with respect and dignity, and providing everyone with access and
opportunities to fulfil their potential. We embrace diversity to enrich our School
environment by sparking innovation and creating a rewarding and vibrant student
community. Within the J.E. Cairnes School of Business & Economics, at a module-
Classroom level we aim to create and nurture an environment that is respectful and inclusive
Charter for all. To achieve this, we will:
 Treat each other with dignity and respect.
 Listen to each other’s point of view, recognising that there may be
disagreement.
 Keep discussion, comments, and module feedback on the topic, and off the
people.
 Do not use inflammatory or offensive language, sarcasm or raised voices.

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J.E. Cairnes School of Business & Economics
MS805 Database Systems Module Outline 2024-2025

Schedule of Module Content & Learning Material

Week Topic Readings / Activities
Introduction to Database Systems Reading for Week 1: “Welcome to Cairnes” (provided
Welcome and housekeeping; brief through MS805 Canvas)
1
introduction to technical concepts; getting
started with MariaDB (MySQL).
ERD — Entities and Relationships Readings for Weeks 2 to 5:
Relational database design; single source
2 of truth (SSOT); database data types; Domdouzis, K., Lake, P., & Crowther, P. (2021).
September 2024

connectivity; cardinality; composite Relational Databases. Concise Guide to Databases

entities. (pp. 71–100). Springer.
doi: 10.1007/978-3-030-42224-0_4 *
SQL — Querying and Managing Tables
3 Creating tables; inserting data; SELECT Kent, W. (1983). A Simple Guide to Five Normal Forms
statements; concatenation; IFNULL. in Relational Database Theory. Communications of
the ACM, 26(2), pp. 120-125.
ERD — Normalisation doi: 10.1145/358024.358054 *
First, second and third normal forms
(1NF, 2NF, 3NF); multi-valued attributes; Lim, C. Y., Perdana, A., & Wong, S. R. (2021). Pursuing
4 functional/partial/transitive effectiveness and efficiency: Data model for
dependencies. workforce scheduling at Alvarino. Journal of
Information Technology Teaching Cases, 11(1), 14-
19. doi: 10.1177/2043886920935903 *
SQL — Combining Datasets
Inner joins; left joins; right joins; cross
5 joins; subqueries; brief introduction to
data integrity constraints and transaction
management rules.
Database Techniques for Business and Readings for Weeks 6 to 12:
October 2024

6 Organisational Value
SQL aggregation (GROUP BY) for Eriksson, O., & Ågerfalk, P. J. (2010). Rethinking the
analytics; database views; “which ones meaning of identifiers in information
go together” query pattern; brief infrastructures. Journal of the Association for
7 introduction to fuzzy matching, spatial Information Systems, 11(8),
queries, and triggers. doi: 10.17705/1jais.00234 *

Database Security and Administration Paavola, L. & Cuthbertson, R. (2022), Transformative

Database user accounts and privileges; Power of Mundane Technologies in Institutional
securing database servers; SQL injection; Change. Proceedings of the Hawaii International
8 Conference on System Sciences (HICSS).
UUIDs; brief introduction to UML class
diagrams, SQL query optimisation, and https://aisel.aisnet.org/hicss-55/os/topics_in_os/7/
indexes.
Schwieger, D. (2022). Here We Grow Again! An
November 2024

9 Expansion for Mark's Doggy Day Care: A Database

Design and Development Case. Information Systems
10 Revision and Refinement
Education Journal, 20(4), 12-18.
Depending on student feedback about
11 https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1351229
which topics above require more
12 attention.

* Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs) can be used to retrieve resources electronically by availing of the service located at
https://dx-doi-org.nuigalway.idm.oclc.org/ — students will be provided with more information about this service
during the Week 1 lecture.

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