ETC1000 Chap.11 The Group Project on Melbourne Suburb Prices
The Group Project on Melbourne Suburb Prices
The question and the freedom
The project sets one question about Melbourne housing: how do prices for houses and for units vary from suburb to suburb, and which characteristics of a suburb account for that variation. The brief sets the questions and the data sources, states that only techniques taught in the unit should be used, and then leaves the choices to the group.
That freedom is the assessment: a group that chooses well and says why has done the task, and a group that runs everything it knows has not.
Four sources and one text key
Quarterly median house prices, quarterly median unit prices, a socio economic index by suburb and a list of suburb distances and directions from the city are joined on suburb name.
The brief is explicit that the merge will be imperfect, that some suburbs appear in one file and not another, and that names sometimes differ, and it instructs groups to keep only suburbs with data on every variable.
How many suburbs survive that step is itself a reportable number.
Four tasks, four weeks of the semester
Describing the distribution draws on week 2. Comparing house against unit prices through ratios, correlation and a simple regression draws on weeks 2 and 4. Estimating two multiple regressions on the index, distance and direction dummies draws on week 6. The fourth task must be completed in R and draws on week 8: a join with a council file, an investigation of the missing values it creates, and a grouped summary of prices by council.
The deliverable is a recorded presentation
Twelve to fifteen minutes, every member speaking, recorded in one unedited online session with cameras on, and penalised beyond fifteen minutes.
Slides, a spreadsheet showing the group's workings, the R code and a link to the recording are all submitted. Assessment covers content, presentation and group participation, the last of these through peer feedback.
What this chapter covers
- 01
The four data sources and why the suburb name key does not line up cleanly
- 02
Reducing four quarterly medians to one price per suburb, and defending the choice
- 03
Using the socio economic index as a value or as a decile category
- 04
The four tasks and which teaching week each one draws on
- 05
The recorded presentation, its time limit and its recording rules
- 06
The two published due dates, the late penalty and the group extension rule
Plan the merge before the semester gets busy
- 1State the count you would report and why.
- 1Classify the unmatched suburbs into two kinds.
- 1Give the check that catches a join going wrong in the other direction.
Key terms
- Median price
- The middle sale price in a suburb and quarter, already a summary before the analysis begins.
- Socio economic index
- A single score combining incomes, occupations and related measures for a suburb.
- Direction dummy
- A zero one variable for a compass direction from the city, measured against an omitted baseline.
- Merge key
- The suburb name shared by the files, produced independently by three organisations.
- Complete case
- A suburb holding data on every variable, which the brief requires before analysis.
- Peer evaluation
- The component in which group members assess whether each person contributed equally.
The Group Project on Melbourne Suburb Prices FAQ
What exactly is the group project asking?
It sets one question about Melbourne housing: how prices for houses and for units vary from suburb to suburb, and which suburb characteristics account for that variation.
Groups build one analysis table from quarterly price data, a socio economic index and a list of distances from the city, then describe the distribution, compare house against unit prices, estimate two multiple regression models, and complete one task in R that joins a council file and summarises prices by council.
When is it due?
Two official sources give different answers. The project brief itself gives 11.55pm on Friday 2 October and describes that as the end of week 9. The assessments page and the schedule both give 11.55pm on Monday 5 October and place the project against week 10. A three day gap decides whether a submission is late, so confirm the operative date on the assignment page rather than assuming.
How do extensions work for a group task?
Not through the individual special consideration process, which the brief states cannot be used here. A group that believes it has a case emails the unit at least four days before the deadline with all members copied in. The late penalty stated in the brief is 5 per cent of the mark per working day or part of a day, so an hour late costs the same as a full day.
What are the rules for recording the presentation?
It runs 12 to 15 minutes, every member takes part, and exceeding 15 minutes is penalised. The recording is made in a single online session with the whole group present and cameras on, one person sharing the slides while each member presents their own section, and it must not be edited afterwards.
The brief states that departing from this procedure without prior approval scores zero, so read that section before planning the recording.
Which techniques are we allowed to use?
Those taught in the unit. The brief says so directly, while leaving room for other ways of showing the data geographically, maps among them. Most tasks may be done in either Excel or R according to whichever the group prefers, and one specified part must be done in R.
Exam move
Do the merge early, in week 7 or 8, because it is the part that takes unpredictable time and everything else depends on it. Then plan the presentation as a running order before producing more analysis: fifteen minutes across five or six speakers is three or four slides each, which forces the decision about which results actually answer the questions.
Keep the limitations slide, because the brief lists discussing limitations and further work as part of what the content must cover.
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