Library Resources for Basic and Applied Sciences

Learn the basics of Data Science through an easy to understand conceptual framework and immediately practice using RapidMiner platform. Whether you are brand new to data science or working on your tenth project, this book will show you how to analyze data, uncover hidden patterns and relationships to aid important decisions and predictions. Data Science has become an essential tool to extract value from data for any organization that collects, stores and processes data as part of its operations. This book is ideal for business users, data analysts, business analysts, engineers, and analytics professionals and for anyone who works with data. You'll be able to: Gain the necessary knowledge of different data science techniques to extract value from data. Master the concepts and inner workings of 30 commonly used powerful data science algorithms. Implement step-by-step data science process using using RapidMiner, an open source GUI based data science platform Data Science techniques covered: Exploratory data analysis, Visualization, Decision trees, Rule induction, k-nearest neighbors, Naïve Bayesian classifiers, Artificial neural networks, Deep learning, Support vector machines, Ensemble models, Random forests, Regression, Recommendation engines, Association analysis, K-Means and Density based clustering, Self organizing maps, Text mining, Time series forecasting, Anomaly detection, Feature selection and more... Contains fully updated content on data science, including tactics on how to mine business data for information Presents simple explanations for over twenty powerful data science techniques Enables the practical use of data science algorithms without the need for programming Demonstrates processes with practical use cases Introduces each algorithm or technique and explains the workings of a data science algorithm in plain language Describes the commonly used setup options for the open source tool RapidMiner

A comprehensive overview of data science covering the analytics, programming, and business skills necessary to master the discipline Finding a good data scientist has been likened to hunting for a unicorn: the required combination of technical skills is simply very hard to find in one person. In addition, good data science is not just rote application of trainable skill sets; it requires the ability to think flexibly about all these areas and understand the connections between them. This book provides a crash course in data science, combining all the necessary skills into a unified discipline. Unlike many analytics books, computer science and software engineering are given extensive coverage since they play such a central role in the daily work of a data scientist. The author also describes classic machine learning algorithms, from their mathematical foundations to real-world applications. Visualization tools are reviewed, and their central importance in data science is highlighted. Classical statistics is addressed to help readers think critically about the interpretation of data and its common pitfalls. The clear communication of technical results, which is perhaps the most undertrained of data science skills, is given its own chapter, and all topics are explained in the context of solving real-world data problems. The book also features: * Extensive sample code and tutorials using Python(tm) along with its technical libraries * Core technologies of "Big Data," including their strengths and limitations and how they can be used to solve real-world problems * Coverage of the practical realities of the tools, keeping theory to a minimum; however, when theory is presented, it is done in an intuitive way to encourage critical thinking and creativity * A wide variety of case studies from industry * Practical advice on the realities of being a data scientist today, including the overall workflow, where time is spent, the types of datasets worked on, and the skill sets needed The Data Science Handbook is an ideal resource for data analysis methodology and big data software tools. The book is appropriate for people who want to practice data science, but lack the required skill sets. This includes software professionals who need to better understand analytics and statisticians who need to understand software. Modern data science is a unified discipline, and it is presented as such. This book is also an appropriate reference for researchers and entry-level graduate students who need to learn real-world analytics and expand their skill set. FIELD CADY is the data scientist at the Allen Institute for Artificial Intelligence, where he develops tools that use machine learning to mine scientific literature. He has also worked at Google and several Big Data startups. He has a BS in physics and math from Stanford University, and an MS in computer science from Carnegie Mellon.

Discover how data science can help you gain in-depth insight into your business - the easy way! Jobs in data science abound, but few people have the data science skills needed to fill these increasingly important roles. Data Science For Dummies is the perfect starting point for IT professionals and students who want a quick primer on all areas of the expansive data science space. With a focus on business cases, the book explores topics in big data, data science, and data engineering, and how these three areas are combined to produce tremendous value. If you want to pick-up the skills you need to begin a new career or initiate a new project, reading this book will help you understand what technologies, programming languages, and mathematical methods on which to focus. While this book serves as a wildly fantastic guide through the broad, sometimes intimidating field of big data and data science, it is not an instruction manual for hands-on implementation. Here's what to expect: Provides a background in big data and data engineering before moving on to data science and how it's applied to generate value Includes coverage of big data frameworks like Hadoop, MapReduce, Spark, MPP platforms, and NoSQL Explains machine learning and many of its algorithms as well as artificial intelligence and the evolution of the Internet of Things Details data visualization techniques that can be used to showcase, summarize, and communicate the data insights you generate It's a big, big data world out there--let Data Science For Dummies help you harness its power and gain a competitive edge for your organization.

Data science is emerging as a field that is revolutionizing science and industries alike. Work across nearly all domains is becoming more data driven, affecting both the jobs that are available and the skills that are required. As more data and ways of analyzing them become available, more aspects of the economy, society, and daily life will become dependent on data. It is imperative that educators, administrators, and students begin today to consider how to best prepare for and keep pace with this data-driven era of tomorrow. Undergraduate teaching, in particular, offers a critical link in offering more data science exposure to students and expanding the supply of data science talent. Data Science for Undergraduates: Opportunities and Options offers a vision for the emerging discipline of data science at the undergraduate level. This report outlines some considerations and approaches for academic institutions and others in the broader data science communities to help guide the ongoing transformation of this field.

A practical guide to making good decisions in a world of missing data In the era of big data, it is easy to imagine that we have all the information we need to make good decisions. But in fact the data we have are never complete, and may be only the tip of the iceberg. Just as much of the universe is composed of dark matter, invisible to us but nonetheless present, the universe of information is full of dark data that we overlook at our peril. In Dark Data, data expert David Hand takes us on a fascinating and enlightening journey into the world of the data we don't see. Dark Data explores the many ways in which we can be blind to missing data and how that can lead us to conclusions and actions that are mistaken, dangerous, or even disastrous. Examining a wealth of real-life examples, from the Challenger shuttle explosion to complex financial frauds, Hand gives us a practical taxonomy of the types of dark data that exist and the situations in which they can arise, so that we can learn to recognize and control for them. In doing so, he teaches us not only to be alert to the problems presented by the things we don't know, but also shows how dark data can be used to our advantage, leading to greater understanding and better decisions. Today, we all make decisions using data. Dark Data shows us all how to reduce the risk of making bad ones.

Effective visualization is the best way to communicate information from the increasingly large and complex datasets in the natural and social sciences. But with the increasing power of visualization software today, scientists, engineers, and business analysts often have to navigate a bewildering array of visualization choices and options. This practical book takes you through many commonly encountered visualization problems, and it provides guidelines on how to turn large datasets into clear and compelling figures. What visualization type is best for the story you want to tell? How do you make informative figures that are visually pleasing? Author Claus O. Wilke teaches you the elements most critical to successful data visualization. Explore the basic concepts of color as a tool to highlight, distinguish, or represent a value Understand the importance of redundant coding to ensure you provide key information in multiple ways Use the book's visualizations directory, a graphical guide to commonly used types of data visualizations Get extensive examples of good and bad figures Learn how to use figures in a document or report and how employ them effectively to tell a compelling story

The emphasis of the book is on the question of Why - only if why an algorithm is successful is understood, can it be properly applied, and the results trusted. Algorithms are often taught side by side without showing the similarities and differences between them. This book addresses the commonalities, and aims to give a thorough and in-depth treatment and develop intuition, while remaining concise. This useful reference should be an essential on the bookshelves of anyone employing machine learning techniques. The author's webpage for the book can be accessed here.