Book Image

Data Analysis Using SQL and Excel - Second Edition

By : Gordon S. S. Linoff
Book Image

Data Analysis Using SQL and Excel - Second Edition

By: Gordon S. S. Linoff

Overview of this book

Data Analysis Using SQL and Excel, 2nd Edition shows you how to leverage the two most popular tools for data query and analysis—SQL and Excel—to perform sophisticated data analysis without the need for complex and expensive data mining tools. Written by a leading expert on business data mining, this book shows you how to extract useful business information from relational databases. You'll learn the fundamental techniques before moving into the "where" and "why" of each analysis, and then learn how to design and perform these analyses using SQL and Excel. Examples include SQL and Excel code, and the appendix shows how non-standard constructs are implemented in other major databases, including Oracle and IBM DB2/UDB. The companion website includes datasets and Excel spreadsheets, and the book provides hints, warnings, and technical asides to help you every step of the way. Data Analysis Using SQL and Excel, 2nd Edition shows you how to perform a wide range of sophisticated analyses using these simple tools, sparing you the significant expense of proprietary data mining tools like SAS.
Table of Contents (18 chapters)
Free Chapter
1
Foreword
17
EULA

CHAPTER 4
Where Is It All Happening? Location, Location, Location

From foreign policy to politics to real estate and retailing, many would agree with Napoleon’s sentiment that “geography is destiny.” Where customers reside and the attributes of that area are among customers’ most informative characteristics: east coast, west coast, or in-between? Red state or blue state? Urban, rural, or suburban? Sunbelt or snowbelt? Good school district or retirement community? Geography is important.

Incorporating this rich source of information into data analysis poses some challenges. One is geocoding, the process of identifying the names of physically locations. This includes latitude and longitude, as well as the identification of multiple geographic areas, such as zip code, county, state, and country. This information makes it possible to determine who are neighbors and who are not.

Another challenge is incorporating the wealth of information about geographic areas...