Unit 01 | Introduction & Essentials |
| 7.5 hrs |
Upon completion of this module, you will be able to:
- discuss the differences between data analytics and data science
- appreciate the key uses of machine learning
- load data into R and perform basic data manipulation
Data Science vs Data Analytics
There is often confusion around the terms data science, data mining, and machine learning. Aside from this confusion, data analytics and related to that, business analytics, are also confounded with data science. The articles below sheds some light on the differences between the two by focusing on the key tasks of a data analyst versus a data scientist.
Smith, Jerry A (2013). Data Analytics vs Data Science: Two Separate, but Interconnected Disciplines. Data Scientist Insights. September 9, 2013.
Swanstrom, Ryan (2015). Analytics versus Data Science. October 24, 2015.
Smith, Jerry A (2013). Data Analytics vs Data Science: Two Separate, but Interconnected Disciplines. Data Scientist Insights. September 9, 2013.
Swanstrom, Ryan (2015). Analytics versus Data Science. October 24, 2015.
Skills, Roles, Responsibilities of a Data Scientist
Key Resources for Data Science
Data science requires tools, skills, and background knowledge, so the practicing data scientist needs a toolbox to rely on. The blog post below is a list of lists spanning the key foundations: programming, R, statistics, visualization, and predictive analytics. Look them over to get an idea of what you need to learn (over time -- not all at once -- and not all in this course.)
Smith, Jerry A (2013). Six Lists of Lists for Data Scientists. December 28, 2015.
Smith, Jerry A (2013). Six Lists of Lists for Data Scientists. December 28, 2015.
Data Science Programming
In this course we teach R as the examples and course text use R. So, to that purpose, we require that you work through the online course, Learning R on LinkedIn Learning. Ideally, you should work through the entire course this week, even if you have programming experience with R. Note that you need to log in using your Northeastern credentials.
There are also several primers on various aspects of R available from R Studio. We strongly suggest that you work through as many of their interactive tutorials as possible.
There are also several primers on various aspects of R available from R Studio. We strongly suggest that you work through as many of their interactive tutorials as possible.
Introducing Machine Learning
Read chapter 1 from the text by Brett Lantz.