Module 1: Working with Data

Hello, and welcome to this meta program focused
on data analytics. My name is Anke Audenert and
I’m one of your instructors. In today’s digital age, the saying knowledge
is power has evolved to data driven
knowledge is power. In a world, wash with data
where every click, every view, and every swipe
generates information, understanding that vast ocean of data is no longer
just an option. It’s essential. I’m
excited you are joining me on this journey into the heart of data analysis. Data analysis lies at the core of understanding
and shaping our future, from online advertising and digital commerce to
finance and healthcare. Imagine being able to predict market trends before they
happen to understand consumer behavior at a
granular level or to make medical advancements
based on real world data. That’s the power
of data analytics. Through this program, you’ll embark on a journey
from the basics of data analysis to using statistics to discover
patterns in data, from mastering spreadsheets and visualization tools to getting a taste of coding in Python. You’ll unlock the potential
to transform industries, to make informed decisions, and to innovate for the future. The courses in this
program consist of video lessons with some
readings along the way. They have a practical focus
so that you get hands on experience and will be prepared for the day to day
role of an analyst. You’ll find many examples and cases throughout our videos, and there are
quizzes, exercises, and projects to help you
practice your skills. In my career, data analytics has helped me better
understand research data, back up my arguments with
data-based insights, and often convince my managers or clients to adapt their
business strategies. I hope that as you go
through this program, you’ll discover that
data analysis has the power to unlock the
stories data I have to tell. I can’t wait to get started.

Welcome to the intro to
data analytics course. I’m really glad you’re here, and
I’m excited to give you an overview of the many things you can
accomplish analyzing data. At the end of this course, you’ll have a
good understanding of what data analytics is and what data analysts do. You’ll also have a framework that you can
use to approach data analysis projects. And you’ll know how to use data to help
you tell a story and convince people of your point of view using the insights
you gained from the data. This course has four parts, in the first
week, we will take a closer look at what data analytics is and what’s involved
in the role of a data analyst. We will also introduce the awesome
framework, a framework that will guide you through data analytics projects and that
can help you keep your efforts focused on the topics at hand,
even in a world as data rich as ours. In the second week, we will focus on data
sources and where you can obtain data that are reliable and that will help
you with your analytics project. We’ll also talk about how you can clean
the data you find, or in other words, get them ready for analysis. Then in the third week,
we will start to explore data, the step in which we try to uncover
what the data is telling us. We will also go a step further and
focus on modeling. You’ll learn why and how models are used
and how they can help you to use the insights we gather from the data to
predict what might happen in the future. In the fourth and final week in this
course, you’ll learn how to interpret your findings and
start to tell a story with your data data. Along the way, we will use many examples,
and we’ll also bring in a real world case study so you can see how
data analytics works in practice. And you’ll get a chance to practice too. There are activities in this course that
will get you started working with data and getting a taste for
what the life of a data analyst is like. I’m excited to get started. See you in the next video.

With the rise of digital technologies and
their growing importance to daily life, the amount of data being generated and
collected is growing exponentially. You might have heard of
data informed decisions or data driven companies, or
even data based advertising. All of these phrases stress the importance
of data in common business actions. But as I’m sure you can imagine, the sheer volume of data we have access
to can also be a bit overwhelming. So it’s a good idea to
start with a clear goal and a framework that will help
to approach the data. That’s what we will focus on in
this first week of our Intro to Data Analytics course. First, we’ll define what
data analytics is and we’ll take a closer look at
the job of a data analyst. We’ll also distinguish data
analytics from data science. And next we’re going to focus
on the OSEMN framework. We’ll pronounce this as awesome framework. We will highlight how we will
first define the goals for any data analytics project, and
then we will discuss how the OSEMN framework can help us approach
any data analytics task. By the end of the week, you’ll have a concrete understanding
of how data analytics projects are structured as well as questions to
consider while conducting a project. And hopefully you’ll see some of
the awesomeness of the framework. So let’s get started.

In our modern world, we’re generating more
and more data every day from our social
media posts to financial transactions we make or any other interaction
we have with technology, we’re leaving a long
data trail behind. This data is reflection
of our behavior, habits and preferences and it provides valuable
insights into our world. The amount of data generated
by individuals and organizations is growing
at an exponential rate. Thanks to advancements
in technology and the proliferation of connected
devices like phones, smartwatches, car computers,
smart home setups like connected alarm systems,
cameras, and thermostats. All this data provides us with a wealth of information
and if used correctly, it can help us make
better decisions. But to do that, we need people who can help make sense of all the data and derive the insights from it that can really
help us progress. These people are data analysts. Did I already mentioned
they are in high demand? Whether you’re a business
owner, a marketer, or just someone who wants to understand the world around you, data analytics is an
essential skill to have. Although it’s true that when
we talk about data today, we immediately think of
terabytes of data collected every second through
the Internet and complex machines and procedures, data could also be the
handwritten records you keep about purchases
at your bake sale or a daily log you keep
up your blood pressure. It doesn’t need to
be complicated. When you structure and analyze your data in the right
way even simple data can become meaningful
and help you to gain insights and make better
decisions in the future. To really capitalize
on the power of data, we need people that can help
collect the relevant data, clean and organize that data
and analyze and visualize that data to uncover insights and help us
make informed decisions. That’s exactly what
data analysts do. Even if you don’t plan on
becoming a data analyst, having a basic understanding of data analytics will be
beneficial to you in many ways. It will give you the ability
to make informed decisions, to identify patterns and trends, and to communicate data in
a clear and concise manner. Before we delve into all the
aspects of data analytics, let’s first define what
data analytics really is. That’s what’s coming up next.