Editing Text as Data (Spring 2026) (section)

== Administrative Notes ==

=== Office Hours ===

; Eddie Hock (TA): Regular office hours are Tuesdays, 1:30–3:00pm, Savery Hall (SAV) 216-D. Eddie is particularly focused on R for coding questions, but can field general questions. Eddie is also available for meetings outside of regular office hours — reach out to him by email to arrange a time.
; Benjamin Mako Hill (Instructor): Regular office hours are Thursdays, 4:30–6:00pm, Communications Building (CMU) 333. Mako is particularly focused on Python for coding questions, but can help with R as well. Mako is also available for 30-minute meetings outside of regular office hours. You can view [https://mako.cc/calendar/ his calendar] and/or [https://cal.com/makohill/ schedule a meeting directly]. If you schedule a meeting, we'll meet in the Jitsi room (<code>makooffice</code>). You will get a link to the room via the scheduling system, but you can also find it at https://meet.jit.si.

Both Eddie and Mako will also idle in the "Office Hours" voice channel on Discord (which also supports video and screen sharing). You're welcome to join that way remotely if it's more convenient.

=== Religious Accommodations ===

Washington state law requires that UW develop a policy for accommodation of student absences or significant hardship due to reasons of faith or conscience, or for organized religious activities. The UW's policy, including more information about how to request an accommodation, is available at [https://registrar.washington.edu/staffandfaculty/religious-accommodations-policy/ Religious Accommodations Policy]. Accommodations must be requested within the first two weeks of this course using the [https://registrar.washington.edu/students/religious-accommodations-request/ Religious Accommodations Request form].

=== Student Conduct ===

The University of Washington Student Conduct Code (WAC 478-121) defines prohibited academic and behavioral conduct and describes how the University holds students accountable as they pursue their academic goals. Allegations of misconduct by students may be referred to the appropriate campus office for investigation and resolution. More information can be found online at https://www.washington.edu/studentconduct/

Call SafeCampus at 206-685-7233 anytime–no matter where you work or study–to anonymously discuss safety and well-being concerns for yourself or others. SafeCampus's team of caring professionals will provide individualized support, while discussing short- and long-term solutions and connecting you with additional resources when requested.

=== Use of AI Tools ===

For the ''Applying'' days on the syllabus, you will be asked to write code in Python or R. As I said in the section on [[#Daily Problem Sets]], you are welcome—encouraged in fact—to use AI coding tools for these assignments. There are a range of these out there including [https://code.claude.com/docs/en/overview Claude Code], [https://copilot.microsoft.com/ Microsoft Copilot], and so on. You can also simply paste things into chatbots like Google Gemini or OpenAI's ChatGPT. There is no requirement to use these tools, but I strongly suspect these tools are the future of coding and I think it's probably a good idea to start building familiarity with them.

That said, your coding agents are making fundamental decisions that will not only ''affect your analysis''—they will ''be your analysis''. As the person who is going to publish work done by coding agents in the future, you will be responsible for every single line that goes into your analysis. The same will be true and I will ask you to explain them in front of the class.

That means you need to be able to read and understand every single line of code that is being produced. This fluency comes from experience reading code. Luckily, coding agents and AI chatbots are pretty good at explaining code. If an AI tool gives you code you do not understand, you can prompt it to rewrite the code in a different or simpler way or you can ask it what the code does and why it works the way it does. Remember, I'm going to ask you to explain your code in class as part of the [[#Daily Problem Sets]]. If you have any doubt about your ability to do this, you need to spend more time studying "your" code to build your confidence.

Unless otherwise noted, everything other than code that you produce for this course must be your own work. Using generative AI outside of coding tasks for anything turned in to the course will be considered academic misconduct and subject to investigation.

<!-- The assignments in this class have been designed to challenge you to develop creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills. Using AI technology will limit your capacity to develop these skills and meet the learning goals of this course. -->
If you have any questions about what constitutes academic integrity in this course or at the University of Washington, please contact me to discuss your concerns.

Please note that I do not consider grammar/spellchecking a prohibited use of AI.

:<font size="-1">''Text adapted from: [https://teaching.washington.edu/course-design/chatgpt/sample-ai-syllabus-statements/ UW sample syllabus statements].''</font>

=== Academic Dishonesty ===

This includes cheating on assignments, plagiarizing (misrepresenting work by another author as your own, paraphrasing or quoting sources without acknowledging the original author or using information from the internet without proper citation), and submitting the same or similar paper to meet the requirements of more than one course without instructor approval. Academic dishonesty in any part of this course is grounds for failure and further disciplinary action. The first incident of plagiarism will result in the student's receiving a zero on the plagiarized assignment. The second incident of plagiarism will result in the student's receiving a zero in the class.

=== Disability Resources ===

If you have already established accommodations with Disability Resources for Students (DRS), please communicate your approved accommodations through their processes at your earliest convenience so we can discuss your needs in this course.

If you have not yet established services through DRS, but have a temporary health condition or permanent disability that requires accommodations (conditions include but not limited to; mental health, attention-related, learning, vision, hearing, physical or health impacts), you are welcome to contact DRS at 206-543-8924 or uwdrs@uw.edu or disability.uw.edu. DRS offers resources and coordinates reasonable accommodations for students with disabilities and/or temporary health conditions. Reasonable accommodations are established through an interactive process between you, your instructor(s) and DRS. It is the policy and practice of the University of Washington to create inclusive and accessible learning environments consistent with federal and state law.

=== Mental Health ===

Your mental health is important. If you are feeling distressed, anxious, depressed, or in any way struggling with your emotional and psychological wellness, please know that you are not alone. Graduate school can be a profoundly difficult time for many of us.

Resources are available for you:
* UW 24/7 Help Line 1.866.775.0608
* https://wellbeing.uw.edu/topic/mental-health/
* https://www.crisistextline.org/

=== Other Student Support ===

Any student who has difficulty affording groceries or accessing sufficient food to eat every day or who lacks a safe and stable place to live and believes this may affect their performance in the course is urged to contact the graduate program advisor for support. Furthermore, please notify me if you are comfortable doing so. This will enable me to provide any resources that I may possess (adapted from Sara Goldrick-Rab). Please also note the student food pantry, Any Hungry Husky at the ECC.