Fundamentals of Data Science

Module code: MA3419

Data science is the process of extracting reliable insights and conclusions from data. Advances in computing power, statistical and computer science techniques and the ability to gather huge amounts of data from sensors and our online digital lives has made data science ubiquitous in all fields of human endeavour.

In this module you will learn to obtain, explore and manipulate data in an efficient and reproducible way using the R programming language. These are important skills in any area that uses data to solve practical problems: applied statistics, business analytics, finance, physical and social science research. 

You will gain the skills to use publicly available data sets to develop solutions to real-world problems. Datasets chosen will reflect a range of data formats and application areas. For example: the World Bank Development Indicators database; the Human Mortality Database of mortality and population data; Project Gutenberg database of copyright-free literature; STATS19 Great Britain’s official road traffic casualty database. You’ll also need to research and use R software packages suitable for the task at hand.

Lectures will introduce a series of realistic data science problems which you will then work collaboratively to solve in supervised computer labs.