Data Science

Data science is an interdisciplinary field that uses statistics, programming, and subject-matter expertise to collect, clean, analyze, and model data in order to answer questions or support decisions. Its outputs include reports, experiments, and predictive models.

Why it matters

Organizations accumulate data but need people who can turn it into reliable conclusions. Data scientists bridge business questions and technical methods, from exploratory analysis to machine learning in production.

Example

A typical project:

1. Define question: why did signups drop in March?
2. Gather and clean data
3. Explore: segment by channel and device
4. Model or test a hypothesis
5. Communicate findings, recommend action

Much of the time goes into steps 2 and 3, not model building.

Common mistakes

• Skipping a clear question and mining data for anything that looks interesting.
• Confusing correlation with causation.
• Building models nobody deploys or trusts because stakeholders were not involved.

Related

• Data analytics
• Data cleaning
• Machine learning
• A/B testing

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