Data basics
I N T R O D U C T I O N T O D ATA
Maarten Van den Broeck
Senior Content Developer at DataCamp
Data is everywhere
INTRODUCTION TO DATA
Data is everywhere
INTRODUCTION TO DATA
Data is everywhere
INTRODUCTION TO DATA
Data is everywhere
INTRODUCTION TO DATA
Data is everywhere
INTRODUCTION TO DATA
Data is everywhere
INTRODUCTION TO DATA
What is data?
Derived from datum: given, fact
INTRODUCTION TO DATA
What is data?
Derived from datum: given, fact
Valuable resource in this digital era1
1 The Economist, May 6th 2017: The world most valuable resource is no longer oil, but data
INTRODUCTION TO DATA
Data context
Who is a great player?
Lionel Messi
Alexander Ovechkin
INTRODUCTION TO DATA
Data context
Who is a great player?
Lionel Messi
Alexander Ovechkin
INTRODUCTION TO DATA
Data context
Who is a great player?
Lionel Messi
Alexander Ovechkin
INTRODUCTION TO DATA
Data context
Information that provides meaning to data
When the data was collected
Where the data was collected
...
These characteristics of the data are called
the metadata
INTRODUCTION TO DATA
Types of data
Unstructured:
Football match video
Without labels or order
Structured:
Table listing goals, times, players
Organized and easier to analyze
INTRODUCTION TO DATA
Common in spreadsheets Sales records
Easy to filter and analyze
ID Product Sales
Examples: 1 T-shirt 15
Sales records 2 Jeans 2
3 Shoes 3
Employee attendance
4 Jacket 1
Weather data
5 Hat 5
INTRODUCTION TO DATA
Harder to analyze
Needs processing
Examples:
Videos
Interviews
Pictures
INTRODUCTION TO DATA
Also called numerical data Also called categorical data
Ideal for calculations and visualizations Useful for spotting patterns
Examples:
Points scored Examples:
Height
Favorite sports
Temperature
Customer feedback
INTRODUCTION TO DATA
Let's recap
Structured: organized and easy to analyze
Unstructured: complex but insightful
Quantitative: numerical and ideal for
calculations
Qualitative: describes categories and
reveals trends
INTRODUCTION TO DATA
Let's practice!
I N T R O D U C T I O N T O D ATA
The curious case of
data growth
I N T R O D U C T I O N T O D ATA
Maarten Van den Broeck
Senior Content Developer at DataCamp
The volume of data has grown exponentially
1 zettabyte = a one followed by 21 zero's in bytes = 1 billion terrabyte
1 Source: Statista
INTRODUCTION TO DATA
Data storage is changing
INTRODUCTION TO DATA
Data storage is changing
Historical data storage
Genetic information in DNA
Cave and wall paintings
INTRODUCTION TO DATA
Data storage is changing
Historical data storage
Genetic information in DNA
Cave and wall paintings
Scrolls and books of papyrus/parchment
INTRODUCTION TO DATA
Data storage is changing
Historical data storage
Genetic information in DNA
Cave and wall paintings
Scrolls and books of papyrus/parchment
19th and 20th century
Punch cards
INTRODUCTION TO DATA
Data storage is changing
Historical data storage
Genetic information in DNA
Cave and wall paintings
Scrolls and books of papyrus/parchment
19th and 20th century
Punch cards
Magnetic tape, floppy disks
INTRODUCTION TO DATA
Data storage is changing
Historical data storage
Genetic information in DNA
Cave and wall paintings
Scrolls and books of papyrus/parchment
19th and 20th century
Punch cards
Magnetic tape, floppy disks
20th and 21st century
More data on smaller media
INTRODUCTION TO DATA
Data storage is changing
Historical data storage
Genetic information in DNA
Cave and wall paintings
Scrolls and books of papyrus/parchment
19th and 20th century
Punch cards
Magnetic tape, floppy disks
20th and 21st century
More data on smaller media
CDs and hard/solid state drives (local)
INTRODUCTION TO DATA
Data storage is changing
Historical data storage
Genetic information in DNA
Cave and wall paintings
Scrolls and books of papyrus/parchment
19th and 20th century
Punch cards
Magnetic tape, floppy disks
20th and 21st century
More data on smaller media
CDs and hard/solid state drives (local)
Data centers (cloud)
INTRODUCTION TO DATA
Data - where does it come from?
Ice cream shop #1 in New York Ice cream shop #2 in New York
Sells vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry Sells 20+ ice cream flavors
Has a rough idea of sale transactions Also sells coffees and milkshakes
Tracks all sales
INTRODUCTION TO DATA
Capturing data
Data captured Ice cream shop #2 in NY, USA
Sales per product type and ice cream
flavor
Stock per product type and flavor
Weather data
Optimizations
Avoid popular flavors being out of stock
Replace poor selling flavors with new ones
Predict sale spikes due to high temperature
Optimize prices
INTRODUCTION TO DATA
Which ice cream shop would fare better?
Ice cream shop #1 in New York Ice cream shop #2 in New York
Uses gut feeling to make decisions Uses data to make decisions
Randomly switches ice cream flavors Searching for the best flavors
INTRODUCTION TO DATA
Companies are more complex than ice cream shops
3D Manufacturing companies
Beam heat
Layer thickness
Structural stability
Financial institutions
Mortgage applications
Fraud detection
INTRODUCTION TO DATA
Let's practice!
I N T R O D U C T I O N T O D ATA
The value of data
I N T R O D U C T I O N T O D ATA
Maarten Van den Broeck
Senior Content Developer at DataCamp
Individuals and organizations use data
INTRODUCTION TO DATA
Individuals and organizations use data
INTRODUCTION TO DATA
Individuals and organizations use data
INTRODUCTION TO DATA
Individuals and organizations use data
INTRODUCTION TO DATA
Individuals and organizations use data
INTRODUCTION TO DATA
Individuals and organizations use data
INTRODUCTION TO DATA
Individuals and organizations use data
INTRODUCTION TO DATA
Individuals and organizations use data
INTRODUCTION TO DATA
Individuals and organizations use data
INTRODUCTION TO DATA
Individuals and organizations use data
INTRODUCTION TO DATA
Data in organizations
Goal: support business objectives
Profitability
Social good
Research
Customer satisfaction & employee
happiness
How: by improving decision making
Measure return on investment (ROI)
Optimize processes and find new
opportunities
INTRODUCTION TO DATA
Data in healthcare
Example: wearable devices
Monitor personal data
Goal:
Detect and prevent health problems
Turning patient care into precision medicine
Advancing healthcare research worldwide
INTRODUCTION TO DATA
Data in supply chain
Example: monitoring various metrics
Average inventory
Inventory turnover ratio
Goal:
Make sense of the massive amount of
generated data
Demand forecasting
The sequence of processes involved in the
production and distribution of a product1 .
1 Oxford Languages
INTRODUCTION TO DATA
Data in education
Example: DataCamp courses
User feedback
Incorrectly submitted answers
Learner drop-off
Goal:
Improve course design
Identify struggle areas
Personalize learning experience
INTRODUCTION TO DATA
Data is a competitive advantage
Why is that?
Unique to an organization
Unavailable for competitors
Generate insights and actions based on
that data
INTRODUCTION TO DATA
Let's practice!
I N T R O D U C T I O N T O D ATA
