1.2 WHAT IS DATA SCIENCE?
Simply put, data science is the systematic analysis of data within a scientific framework. That is, data science is the
- adaptive, iterative, and phased approach to the analysis of data,
- performed within a systematic framework,
- that uncovers optimal models,
- by assessing and accounting for the true costs of prediction errors.
Data science combines the
- data‐driven approach of statistical data analysis,
- the computational power and programming acumen of computer science, and
- domain‐specific business intelligence,
in order to uncover actionable and profitable nuggets of information from large databases.
In other words, data science allows us to extract actionable knowledge from under‐utilized databases. Thus, data warehouses that have been gathering dust can now be leveraged to uncover hidden profit and enhance the bottom line. Data science lets people leverage large amounts of data and computing power to tackle complex questions. Patterns...