Until recently, many people thought big data was a passing fad. "Data science" was an enigmatic term. Today, big data is taken seriously, and data science is considered downright sexy. With this anthology of reports from award-winning journalist Mike Barlow, you'll appreciate how data science is fundamentally altering our world, for better and for worse. Barlow paints a picture of the emerging data space in broad strokes. From new techniques and tools to the use of data for social good, you'll find out how far data science reaches. With this anthology, you'll learn how: Analysts can now get results from their data queries in near real time Indie manufacturers are blurring the lines between hardware and software Companies try to balance their desire for rapid innovation with the need to tighten data security Advanced analytics and low-cost sensors are transforming equipment maintenance from a cost center to a profit center CIOs have gradually evolved from order takers to business innovators New analytics tools let businesses go beyond data analysis and straight to decision-making Mike Barlow is an award-winning journalist, author, and communications strategy consultant. Since launching his own firm, Cumulus Partners, he has represented major organizations in a number of industries.

Until recently, many people thought big data was a passing fad. "Data science" was an enigmatic term. Today, big data is taken seriously, and data science is considered downright sexy. With this anthology of reports from award-winning journalist Mike Barlow, you’ll appreciate how data science is fundamentally altering our world, for better and for worse. Barlow paints a picture of the emerging data space in broad strokes. From new techniques and tools to the use of data for social good, you’ll find out how far data science reaches. With this anthology, you’ll learn how: Analysts can now get results from their data queries in near real time Indie manufacturers are blurring the lines between hardware and software Companies try to balance their desire for rapid innovation with the need to tighten data security Advanced analytics and low-cost sensors are transforming equipment maintenance from a cost center to a profit center CIOs have gradually evolved from order takers to business innovators New analytics tools let businesses go beyond data analysis and straight to decision-making Mike Barlow is an award-winning journalist, author, and communications strategy consultant. Since launching his own firm, Cumulus Partners, he has represented major organizations in a number of industries.

Focuses on mathematical understanding Presentation is self-contained, accessible, and comprehensive Full color throughout Extensive list of exercises and worked-out examples Many concrete algorithms with actual code

Data science libraries, frameworks, modules, and toolkits are great for doing data science, but they’re also a good way to dive into the discipline without actually understanding data science. In this book, you’ll learn how many of the most fundamental data science tools and algorithms work by implementing them from scratch. If you have an aptitude for mathematics and some programming skills, author Joel Grus will help you get comfortable with the math and statistics at the core of data science, and with hacking skills you need to get started as a data scientist. Today’s messy glut of data holds answers to questions no one’s even thought to ask. This book provides you with the know-how to dig those answers out. Get a crash course in Python Learn the basics of linear algebra, statistics, and probability—and understand how and when they're used in data science Collect, explore, clean, munge, and manipulate data Dive into the fundamentals of machine learning Implement models such as k-nearest Neighbors, Naive Bayes, linear and logistic regression, decision trees, neural networks, and clustering Explore recommender systems, natural language processing, network analysis, MapReduce, and databases

Introduction to Data Science: Data Analysis and Prediction Algorithms with R introduces concepts and skills that can help you tackle real-world data analysis challenges. It covers concepts from probability, statistical inference, linear regression, and machine learning. It also helps you develop skills such as R programming, data wrangling, data visualization, predictive algorithm building, file organization with UNIX/Linux shell, version control with Git and GitHub, and reproducible document preparation. This book is a textbook for a first course in data science. No previous knowledge of R is necessary, although some experience with programming may be helpful. The book is divided into six parts: R, data visualization, statistics with R, data wrangling, machine learning, and productivity tools. Each part has several chapters meant to be presented as one lecture. The author uses motivating case studies that realistically mimic a data scientist’s experience. He starts by asking specific questions and answers these through data analysis so concepts are learned as a means to answering the questions. Examples of the case studies included are: US murder rates by state, self-reported student heights, trends in world health and economics, the impact of vaccines on infectious disease rates, the financial crisis of 2007-2008, election forecasting, building a baseball team, image processing of hand-written digits, and movie recommendation systems. The statistical concepts used to answer the case study questions are only briefly introduced, so complementing with a probability and statistics textbook is highly recommended for in-depth understanding of these concepts. If you read and understand the chapters and complete the exercises, you will be prepared to learn the more advanced concepts and skills needed to become an expert.

Monetize your company’s data and data science expertise without spending a fortune on hiring independent strategy consultants to help What if there was one simple, clear process for ensuring that all your company’s data science projects achieve a high a return on investment? What if you could validate your ideas for future data science projects, and select the one idea that’s most prime for achieving profitability while also moving your company closer to its business vision? There is. Industry-acclaimed data science consultant, Lillian Pierson, shares her proprietary STAR Framework – A simple, proven process for leading profit-forming data science projects. Not sure what data science is yet? Don’t worry! Parts 1 and 2 of Data Science For Dummies will get all the bases covered for you. And if you’re already a data science expert? Then you really won’t want to miss the data science strategy and data monetization gems that are shared in Part 3 onward throughout this book. Data Science For Dummies demonstrates: The only process you’ll ever need to lead profitable data science projects Secret, reverse-engineered data monetization tactics that no one’s talking about The shocking truth about how simple natural language processing can be How to beat the crowd of data professionals by cultivating your own unique blend of data science expertise Whether you’re new to the data science field or already a decade in, you’re sure to learn something new and incredibly valuable from Data Science For Dummies. Discover how to generate massive business wins from your company’s data by picking up your copy today.

Now that people are aware that data can make the difference in an election or a business model, data science as an occupation is gaining ground. But how can you get started working in a wide-ranging, interdisciplinary field that’s so clouded in hype? This insightful book, based on Columbia University’s Introduction to Data Science class, tells you what you need to know. In many of these chapter-long lectures, data scientists from companies such as Google, Microsoft, and eBay share new algorithms, methods, and models by presenting case studies and the code they use. If you’re familiar with linear algebra, probability, and statistics, and have programming experience, this book is an ideal introduction to data science. Topics include: Statistical inference, exploratory data analysis, and the data science process Algorithms Spam filters, Naive Bayes, and data wrangling Logistic regression Financial modeling Recommendation engines and causality Data visualization Social networks and data journalism Data engineering, MapReduce, Pregel, and Hadoop Doing Data Science is collaboration between course instructor Rachel Schutt, Senior VP of Data Science at News Corp, and data science consultant Cathy O’Neil, a senior data scientist at Johnson Research Labs, who attended and blogged about the course.

Data Science gets thrown around in the press like it'smagic. Major retailers are predicting everything from when theircustomers are pregnant to when they want a new pair of ChuckTaylors. It's a brave new world where seemingly meaningless datacan be transformed into valuable insight to drive smart businessdecisions. But how does one exactly do data science? Do you have to hireone of these priests of the dark arts, the "data scientist," toextract this gold from your data? Nope. Data science is little more than using straight-forward steps toprocess raw data into actionable insight. And in DataSmart, author and data scientist John Foreman will show you howthat's done within the familiar environment of aspreadsheet. Why a spreadsheet? It's comfortable! You get to look at the dataevery step of the way, building confidence as you learn the tricksof the trade. Plus, spreadsheets are a vendor-neutral place tolearn data science without the hype. But don't let the Excel sheets fool you. This is a book forthose serious about learning the analytic techniques, the math andthe magic, behind big data. Each chapter will cover a different technique in aspreadsheet so you can follow along: Mathematical optimization, including non-linear programming andgenetic algorithms Clustering via k-means, spherical k-means, and graphmodularity Data mining in graphs, such as outlier detection Supervised AI through logistic regression, ensemble models, andbag-of-words models Forecasting, seasonal adjustments, and prediction intervalsthrough monte carlo simulation Moving from spreadsheets into the R programming language You get your hands dirty as you work alongside John through eachtechnique. But never fear, the topics are readily applicable andthe author laces humor throughout. You'll even learnwhat a dead squirrel has to do with optimization modeling, whichyou no doubt are dying to know.

Summary Think Like a Data Scientist presents a step-by-step approach to data science, combining analytic, programming, and business perspectives into easy-to-digest techniques and thought processes for solving real world data-centric problems. Purchase of the print book includes a free eBook in PDF, Kindle, and ePub formats from Manning Publications. About the Technology Data collected from customers, scientific measurements, IoT sensors, and so on is valuable only if you understand it. Data scientists revel in the interesting and rewarding challenge of observing, exploring, analyzing, and interpreting this data. Getting started with data science means more than mastering analytic tools and techniques, however; the real magic happens when you begin to think like a data scientist. This book will get you there. About the Book Think Like a Data Scientist teaches you a step-by-step approach to solving real-world data-centric problems. By breaking down carefully crafted examples, you'll learn to combine analytic, programming, and business perspectives into a repeatable process for extracting real knowledge from data. As you read, you'll discover (or remember) valuable statistical techniques and explore powerful data science software. More importantly, you'll put this knowledge together using a structured process for data science. When you've finished, you'll have a strong foundation for a lifetime of data science learning and practice. What's Inside The data science process, step-by-step How to anticipate problems Dealing with uncertainty Best practices in software and scientific thinking About the Reader Readers need beginner programming skills and knowledge of basic statistics. About the Author Brian Godsey has worked in software, academia, finance, and defense and has launched several data-centric start-ups. Table of Contents PART 1 - PREPARING AND GATHERING DATA AND KNOWLEDGE Philosophies of data science Setting goals by asking good questions Data all around us: the virtual wilderness Data wrangling: from capture to domestication Data assessment: poking and prodding PART 2 - BUILDING A PRODUCT WITH SOFTWARE AND STATISTICS Developing a plan Statistics and modeling: concepts and foundations Software: statistics in action Supplementary software: bigger, faster, more efficient Plan execution: putting it all together PART 3 - FINISHING OFF THE PRODUCT AND WRAPPING UP Delivering a product After product delivery: problems and revisions Wrapping up: putting the project away

Statistical methods are a key part of of data science, yet very few data scientists have any formal statistics training. Courses and books on basic statistics rarely cover the topic from a data science perspective. This practical guide explains how to apply various statistical methods to data science, tells you how to avoid their misuse, and gives you advice on what's important and what's not. Many data science resources incorporate statistical methods but lack a deeper statistical perspective. If you’re familiar with the R programming language, and have some exposure to statistics, this quick reference bridges the gap in an accessible, readable format. With this book, you’ll learn: Why exploratory data analysis is a key preliminary step in data science How random sampling can reduce bias and yield a higher quality dataset, even with big data How the principles of experimental design yield definitive answers to questions How to use regression to estimate outcomes and detect anomalies Key classification techniques for predicting which categories a record belongs to Statistical machine learning methods that “learn” from data Unsupervised learning methods for extracting meaning from unlabeled data