Book Image

The Data Science Workshop

By : Anthony So, Thomas V. Joseph, Robert Thas John, Andrew Worsley, Dr. Samuel Asare
Book Image

The Data Science Workshop

By: Anthony So, Thomas V. Joseph, Robert Thas John, Andrew Worsley, Dr. Samuel Asare

Overview of this book

You already know you want to learn data science, and a smarter way to learn data science is to learn by doing. The Data Science Workshop focuses on building up your practical skills so that you can understand how to develop simple machine learning models in Python or even build an advanced model for detecting potential bank frauds with effective modern data science. You'll learn from real examples that lead to real results. Throughout The Data Science Workshop, you'll take an engaging step-by-step approach to understanding data science. You won't have to sit through any unnecessary theory. If you're short on time you can jump into a single exercise each day or spend an entire weekend training a model using sci-kit learn. It's your choice. Learning on your terms, you'll build up and reinforce key skills in a way that feels rewarding. Every physical print copy of The Data Science Workshop unlocks access to the interactive edition. With videos detailing all exercises and activities, you'll always have a guided solution. You can also benchmark yourself against assessments, track progress, and receive content updates. You'll even earn a secure credential that you can share and verify online upon completion. It's a premium learning experience that's included with your printed copy. To redeem, follow the instructions located at the start of your data science book. Fast-paced and direct, The Data Science Workshop is the ideal companion for data science beginners. You'll learn about machine learning algorithms like a data scientist, learning along the way. This process means that you'll find that your new skills stick, embedded as best practice. A solid foundation for the years ahead.
Table of Contents (18 chapters)

Python for Data Science

Python offers an incredible number of packages for data science. A package is a collection of prebuilt functions and classes shared publicly by its author(s). These packages extend the core functionalities of Python. The Python Package Index (https://packt.live/37iTRXc) lists all the packages available in Python.

In this section, we will present to you two of the most popular ones: pandas and scikit-learn.

The pandas Package

The pandas package provides an incredible amount of APIs for manipulating data structures. The two main data structures defined in the pandas package are DataFrame and Series.

DataFrame and Series

A DataFrame is a tabular data structure that is represented as a two-dimensional table. It is composed of rows, columns, indexes, and cells. It is very similar to a sheet in Excel or a table in a database:

Figure 1.28: Components of a DataFrame

In Figure 1.28, there are three different columns:...