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An Introduction to Data
Data science is a field of study that focuses on techniques and algorithms to extract knowledge from data. The area combines data mining and machine learning with data-specific domains. This section focuses on defining "data" before going to any complicated topic.
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What is data 05 minLecture1.1
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Quiz on Data 2 questionsQuiz1.1
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The simplest form of dataLecture1.2
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Can data speak?Lecture1.3
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Data Dimensionality and Space
This section's focus is on defining the common terminology widely used in data science. The video lectures in this section focus on terms like objects, data points, features, dimensions, vectors, high-dimensional data, and mathematical space.
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Objects and features of a data tableLecture2.1
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Quiz on objects and features 1 questionQuiz2.1
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What are “space” and a “high-dimensional space”?Lecture2.2
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What is a dimension?Lecture2.3
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Quiz on space and dimensions 2 questionsQuiz2.2
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What is a vector?Lecture2.4
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Proximity in Data Science Context
Many data mining and machine learning algorithms rely on distance or similarity between objects/data points. Video lectures in this section focus on standard proximity measures used in data science. The section also explains how to use proximity measures to examine the neighborhood of a given point.
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Notions of “nearness”: distance and similarityLecture3.1
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Distance measuresLecture3.2
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Similarity measuresLecture3.3
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k-nearest neighbors: Python codeLecture3.4
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Matlab code: Finding k-nearest neighborsLecture3.5
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Clustering algorithms
A large portion of data science focuses on exploratory analysis. Scientists and practitioners use statistical techniques to understand the data. One way to explore the data is to check if there are clusters of data points. A cluster is a group of data points that have similar features. This section explains the clustering algorithms.
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What is clustering?Lecture4.1
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Quiz: introduction to clustering 2 questionsQuiz4.1
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A few types of clustering algorithmsLecture4.2
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k-means clustering algorithmLecture4.3
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Hierarchical Agglomerative Clustering (HAC) algorithm (under construction)Lecture4.4
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Density-based clustering algorithm: DBSCAN (under construction)Lecture4.5
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Evaluation of clustering algorithms: Measure the quality of a clustering outcomeLecture4.6
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Classification algorithms
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What is a classification problem?Lecture5.1
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Logistic regression-based classification and linear regression 01 hourLecture5.2
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Naive Bayes classification (under construction)Lecture5.3
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Evaluation of classification results (under construction)Lecture5.4
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25 Comments
Kindly if u can add lectures on Python it will be highly advantageous for students…………….so that they can learn python in parallel with this course.thanks
Hi, Thank you for your comment and suggestion. Someday, probably I will create lectures on Python programming. For now, my available time is so limited that it is difficult to run two lecture series in parallel. I really appreciate the feedback you have provided. I will definitely keep your suggestion in mind.
Hello prof. I’m just new here and also incoming 2nd year college under BS Computational and Data Science. Any tips you have for me? From humanities became a data science student and i find hard understanding some lessons about data sciences since i barely know about computer hardware, mostly about software. By learning through this, i hope i can get the the most needed knowledge about data science here. Thank you for this free course. :D
Hi Allen,
Thank you for your question. Sorry for the delay.
You will not need to know computer hardware to study Data Science. I would say that one needs some high school math backgrounds to understand data science theories. Definitely, there are advanced topics in every subject for which more advanced backgrounds are required but we cannot learn everything at once. Learning is gradual and skill is developed over time.
At some point, one needs a programming language (such as Python, Matlab, or R) to use existing algorithms in Data Science or to implement new algorithms to solve real-world problems. I think your BS in Computation and Data Science program will cover that. I do not see any issues with a humanities background for learning data science. My suggestion is — please go over the data science lessons I have posted on this site and see if the concepts make sense. The lessons posted so far are good for starting and I hope, they are easy to understand. These lessons should give you an idea about what basic math backgrounds are required in the beginning. Then you can move forward with more complex topics of data science.
I will keep posting more lessons in a sequence in the coming months. I hope the new lessons will help too.
I wish you all the best in your academic pursuit.
Best regards,
Shahriar
Hello Prof
What kind of educational background does someone need to start this course?
Great question! The learner would need some sort of mathematics and statistics background. I would say that the math and stat backgrounds need not be any more extensive than 12th-grade math and stat. Additionally, knowledge of a programming language will be good for the implementation of the theory I explain in the lectures. I will use Python to demonstrate some of the implementations. If someone knows at least one programming language, Python will not be hard to learn.
Thank you!
I completed my course introduction to data science, is any certificate provided here?
Thank you for your interest in the course. We are still not providing any certificate. The course is still under development. We are planning to build the rest of the videos and contents over this year. If you registered for the course, you would receive emails from us when there is a new video or a new lesson.
Hello prof, I am from a Mechanical Engineering background and have no prior knowledge of programming, but my desire to transition into the field of Data science grows stronger daily. Will you advise me to enroll in this course?
That is a great question. Since you already have a STEM background, it will not be hard to learn data science. In terms of programming, it will be helpful if you at least know one programming language. To learn the basics of a programming language, you can go over the videos of our Java Programming Video Lecture Series.
For Data Science, I would recommend learning Python or/and Matlab. If you know the basics of at least one programming language (such as Java), it will not be hard to pick up Python or Matlab.
Now, to answer the question if it is possible to learn data science without knowing any programming language — you can learn the theories from the Introduction to Data Science course but if you plan to implement the concepts and utilize them on real data, you will need to learn Python or Matlab.
The Introduction to Data Science course is still under development but it has enough materials to start learning the basics of Data Science.
Please let me know if you have any questions.
good morning prof
would you recomend data sciece to a person with statitics and maths degree but no computing?
Definitely. People with statistics and math backgrounds will shine and thrive with data science expertise. Knowledge of at least one programming language will be beneficial if someone wants to use data science concepts with real-world data.
Thank you for asking this important question.
Prof can you kindly include a Lecture on Python, as it is very relevant to Data Science. Also can you suggest some further readings for me, because I want to specialize in Data Science.
Thankyou
I agree that Python is important. For the rest of the course, which I am still working on, I will include Python codes from time to time. I am planning on creating more content over this summer. Please stay tuned. I will send out a notification after publishing each new video lecture on data science.
Thank you for your comments.
I have finished this course, very educative. thank you.
Thank you for going over all the existing content. I am planning on creating more content over this summer. Please stay tuned. I will send out a notification after publishing each new video lecture on data science.
Thank you for your message and interest.
I am grateful for the knowledge provided herein. However, most of the lessons are undergoing constructions. I am hopeful that the lessons will be completed sooner. I like to see myself analyzing data now using some of the software or becoming like the Prof.
Hi, Thank you for your messages and all your efforts in completing the existing lessons. You are correct that many of the lessons are still marked as “under construction”. My plan is to create more content over the next few months. I am also planning to include some of the data science-related programming tools (preferably in Python).
Thank you for your patience, interest, and perseverance.
Hello prof, how do I enrol for the course, are there any costs I will incur
Hi, Thank you for your interest in this course. This is a free course. On this page: Data Science, you will see a button titled “Take this course”. Once you register and click the “Take this course” button, you are enrolled. Then you can enjoy the lesions and the few quizzes available. Many of the topics of the course are right now under development but you will be able to start with some content now. Over the coming months, we will be developing more content including exercises. Stay tuned.
Thanks for this great opportunity. I want to know if any certificate will be issued after completing this course
Hi Alex, Thank you for your message. We are not providing certificates at this point. Many of the materials of the course are still under construction. May be someday, when the course will have enough materials and exercises, we might include certificates.
Have a wonderful week.
Good Day Prof!
I have been trying to register for the course but each time i submit my credentials, it returns “404 forbidden”.
I really want to partake in this course.
I am sorry to hear that you are struggling with registration. It is working at my end, so I thought it is working fine. Thank you for bringing the issue to my attention. I will get back to you after fixing the issue.
I have made some changes to the registration. Would you kindly try to register now? If you still have problem registering, I should be able to add you manually. Please let me know if your attempt to register works now.