This accessible introdution to statistics using the program Minitab explains when to apply and how to calculate and interpret a wide range of statistical procedures commonly used in the social sciences. Keeping statistical symbols and formulae to a minimum and using simple examples, this book:
* Assumes no prior knowledge of statistics or computing
* Includes a concise introduction to the program Minitab
* Describes a wider range of tests than other introductory texts
* Contains a comprehensive range of exercises with answers.
Basic Statistics for Social Research will prove an invaluable introductory statistics text for students, and a useful resource for graduates and professionals engaged in research in the social sciences.

Quantitative data analysis is now a compulsory component of most degree courses in the social sciences and students are increasingly reliant on computers for the analysis of data. Quantitative Data Analysis with Minitab explains statistical tests for Mac users using the same formulae free, non-technical approach as the very successful SPPS version. Students will learn a wide range of quantitative data analysis techniques and become familiar with how these techniques can be implemented through the latest version of Minitab. Techniques covered include univariate analysis (with frequency table, dispersion and histograms), bivariate (with contingency tables correlation, analysis of varience and non-parametric tests) and multivariate analysis (with multiple regression, path analysis, covarience and factor analysis). In addition the book covers issues such as sampling, statistical significance, conceptualization and measurement and the selection of appropriate tests. Each chapter concludes with a set of exercises. Social science students will be interested in this integrated, non-mathematical introduction to quantitative data anlysis and the Minitab package.

Learn how to gain insights from your data as well as machine learning and become a presentation pro who can create interactive dashboards Key Features Enhance your presentation skills by implementing engaging data storytelling and visualization techniques Learn the basics of machine learning and easily apply machine learning models to your data Improve productivity by automating your data processes Book DescriptionData Analytics Made Easy is an accessible beginner's guide for anyone working with data. The book interweaves four key elements: Data visualizations and storytelling - Tired of people not listening to you and ignoring your results? Don't worry; chapters 7 and 8 show you how to enhance your presentations and engage with your managers and co-workers. Learn to create focused content with a well-structured story behind it to captivate your audience. Automating your data workflows - Improve your productivity by automating your data analysis. This book introduces you to the open-source platform, KNIME Analytics Platform. You'll see how to use this no-code and free-to-use software to create a KNIME workflow of your data processes just by clicking and dragging components. Machine learning - Data Analytics Made Easy describes popular machine learning approaches in a simplified and visual way before implementing these machine learning models using KNIME. You'll not only be able to understand data scientists' machine learning models; you'll be able to challenge them and build your own. Creating interactive dashboards - Follow the book's simple methodology to create professional-looking dashboards using Microsoft Power BI, giving users the capability to slice and dice data and drill down into the results. What you will learn Understand the potential of data and its impact on your business Import, clean, transform, combine data feeds, and automate your processes Influence business decisions by learning to create engaging presentations Build real-world models to improve profitability, create customer segmentation, automate and improve data reporting, and more Create professional-looking and business-centric visuals and dashboards Open the lid on the black box of AI and learn about and implement supervised and unsupervised machine learning models Who this book is forThis book is for beginners who work with data and those who need to know how to interpret their business/customer data. The book also covers the high-level concepts of data workflows, machine learning, data storytelling, and visualizations, which are useful for managers. No previous math, statistics, or computer science knowledge is required.

Advanced Data Science and Analytics with Python enables data scientists to continue developing their skills and apply them in business as well as academic settings. The subjects discussed in this book are complementary and a follow-up to the topics discussed in Data Science and Analytics with Python. The aim is to cover important advanced areas in data science using tools developed in Python such as SciKit-learn, Pandas, Numpy, Beautiful Soup, NLTK, NetworkX and others. The model development is supported by the use of frameworks such as Keras, TensorFlow and Core ML, as well as Swift for the development of iOS and MacOS applications. Features: Targets readers with a background in programming, who are interested in the tools used in data analytics and data science Uses Python throughout Presents tools, alongside solved examples, with steps that the reader can easily reproduce and adapt to their needs Focuses on the practical use of the tools rather than on lengthy explanations Provides the reader with the opportunity to use the book whenever needed rather than following a sequential path The book can be read independently from the previous volume and each of the chapters in this volume is sufficiently independent from the others, providing flexibility for the reader. Each of the topics addressed in the book tackles the data science workflow from a practical perspective, concentrating on the process and results obtained. The implementation and deployment of trained models are central to the book. Time series analysis, natural language processing, topic modelling, social network analysis, neural networks and deep learning are comprehensively covered. The book discusses the need to develop data products and addresses the subject of bringing models to their intended audiences - in this case, literally to the users' fingertips in the form of an iPhone app. About the Author Dr. Jesus Rogel-Salazar is a lead data scientist in the field, working for companies such as Tympa Health Technologies, Barclays, AKQA, IBM Data Science Studio and Dow Jones. He is a visiting researcher at the Department of Physics at Imperial College London, UK and a member of the School of Physics, Astronomy and Mathematics at the University of Hertfordshire, UK.

Learn how to use, deploy, and maintain Apache Spark with this comprehensive guide, written by the creators of the open-source cluster-computing framework. With an emphasis on improvements and new features in Spark 2.0, authors Bill Chambers and Matei Zaharia break down Spark topics into distinct sections, each with unique goals. You'll explore the basic operations and common functions of Spark's structured APIs, as well as Structured Streaming, a new high-level API for building end-to-end streaming applications. Developers and system administrators will learn the fundamentals of monitoring, tuning, and debugging Spark, and explore machine learning techniques and scenarios for employing MLlib, Spark's scalable machine-learning library. Get a gentle overview of big data and Spark Learn about DataFrames, SQL, and Datasets-Spark's core APIs-through worked examples Dive into Spark's low-level APIs, RDDs, and execution of SQL and DataFrames Understand how Spark runs on a cluster Debug, monitor, and tune Spark clusters and applications Learn the power of Structured Streaming, Spark's stream-processing engine Learn how you can apply MLlib to a variety of problems, including classification or recommendation

Data are not only ubiquitous in society, but are increasingly complex both in size and dimensionality. Dimension reduction offers researchers and scholars the ability to make such complex, high dimensional data spaces simpler and more manageable. This Element offers readers a suite of modern unsupervised dimension reduction techniques along with hundreds of lines of R code, to efficiently represent the original high dimensional data space in a simplified, lower dimensional subspace. Launching from the earliest dimension reduction technique principal components analysis and using real social science data, I introduce and walk readers through application of the following techniques: locally linear embedding, t-distributed stochastic neighbor embedding (t-SNE), uniform manifold approximation and projection, self-organizing maps, and deep autoencoders. The result is a well-stocked toolbox of unsupervised algorithms for tackling the complexities of high dimensional data so common in modern society. All code is publicly accessible on Github.

This is the first rigorous, self-contained treatment of the theory of deep learning. Starting with the foundations of the theory and building it up, this is essential reading for any scientists, instructors, and students interested in artificial intelligence and deep learning. It provides guidance on how to think about scientific questions, and leads readers through the history of the field and its fundamental connections to neuroscience. The author discusses many applications to beautiful problems in the natural sciences, in physics, chemistry, and biomedicine. Examples include the search for exotic particles and dark matter in experimental physics, the prediction of molecular properties and reaction outcomes in chemistry, and the prediction of protein structures and the diagnostic analysis of biomedical images in the natural sciences. The text is accompanied by a full set of exercises at different difficulty levels and encourages out-of-the-box thinking.

Many students find it daunting to move from studying environmental science, to designing and implementing their own research proposals. This book provides a practical introduction to help develop scientific thinking, aimed at undergraduate and new graduate students in the earth and environmental sciences. Students are guided through the steps of scientific thinking using published scientific literature and real environmental data. The book starts with advice on how to effectively read scientific papers, before outlining how to articulate testable questions and answer them using basic data analysis. The Mauna Loa CO2 dataset is used to demonstrate how to read metadata, prepare data, generate effective graphs and identify dominant cycles on various timescales. Practical, question-driven examples are explored to explain running averages, anomalies, correlations and simple linear models. The final chapter provides a framework for writing persuasive research proposals, making this an essential guide for students embarking on their first research project.

Many students find it daunting to move from studying environmental science, to designing and implementing their own research proposals. This book provides a practical introduction to help develop scientific thinking, aimed at undergraduate and new graduate students in the earth and environmental sciences. Students are guided through the steps of scientific thinking using published scientific literature and real environmental data. The book starts with advice on how to effectively read scientific papers, before outlining how to articulate testable questions and answer them using basic data analysis. The Mauna Loa CO2 dataset is used to demonstrate how to read metadata, prepare data, generate effective graphs and identify dominant cycles on various timescales. Practical, question-driven examples are explored to explain running averages, anomalies, correlations and simple linear models. The final chapter provides a framework for writing persuasive research proposals, making this an essential guide for students embarking on their first research project.

This is the first comprehensive overview of the 'science of science,' an emerging interdisciplinary field that relies on big data to unveil the reproducible patterns that govern individual scientific careers and the workings of science. It explores the roots of scientific impact, the role of productivity and creativity, when and what kind of collaborations are effective, the impact of failure and success in a scientific career, and what metrics can tell us about the fundamental workings of science. The book relies on data to draw actionable insights, which can be applied by individuals to further their career or decision makers to enhance the role of science in society. With anecdotes and detailed, easy-to-follow explanations of the research, this book is accessible to all scientists and graduate students, policymakers, and administrators with an interest in the wider scientific enterprise.

This is the first comprehensive overview of the 'science of science,' an emerging interdisciplinary field that relies on big data to unveil the reproducible patterns that govern individual scientific careers and the workings of science. It explores the roots of scientific impact, the role of productivity and creativity, when and what kind of collaborations are effective, the impact of failure and success in a scientific career, and what metrics can tell us about the fundamental workings of science. The book relies on data to draw actionable insights, which can be applied by individuals to further their career or decision makers to enhance the role of science in society. With anecdotes and detailed, easy-to-follow explanations of the research, this book is accessible to all scientists and graduate students, policymakers, and administrators with an interest in the wider scientific enterprise.

Text is everywhere, and it is a fantastic resource for social scientists. However, because it is so abundant, and because language is so variable, it is often difficult to extract the information we want. There is a whole subfield of AI concerned with text analysis (natural language processing). Many of the basic analysis methods developed are now readily available as Python implementations. This Element will teach you when to use which method, the mathematical background of how it works, and the Python code to implement it.

An extensive treatment of a key method in the statistician’s toolbox

For more than two decades, the First Edition of Linear Regression Analysis has been an authoritative resource for one of the most common methods of handling statistical data. There have been many advances in the field over the last twenty years, including the development of more efficient and accurate regression computer programs, new ways of fitting regressions, and new methods of model selection and prediction. Linear Regression Analysis, Second Edition, revises and expands this standard text, providing extensive coverage of state-of-the-art theory and applications of linear regression analysis.

Requiring no specialized knowledge beyond a good grasp of matrix algebra and some acquaintance with straight-line regression and simple analysis of variance models, this new edition features:

• Up-to-date accounts of computational methods and algorithms currently in use without getting entrenched in minor computing details
• A careful and detailed survey of the research literature, making this a highly useful reference
• Expanded coverage of diagnostics, and more discussion of methods of model fitting, model selection and prediction
• More than 200 problems throughout the book plus outline solutions

Concise, mathematically clear, and comprehensive, Linear Regression Analysis, Second Edition, serves as both a reliable reference for the practitioner and a valuable textbook for the student.

This book presents an accessible introduction to data-driven storytelling. Resulting from unique discussions between data visualization researchers and data journalists, it offers an integrated definition of the topic, presents vivid examples and patterns for data storytelling, and calls out key challenges and new opportunities for researchers and practitioners.

This open access book presents the foundations of the Big Data research and innovation ecosystem and the associated enablers that facilitate delivering value from data for business and society. It provides insights into the key elements for research and innovation, technical architectures, business models, skills, and best practices to support the creation of data-driven solutions and organizations. The book is a compilation of selected high-quality chapters covering best practices, technologies, experiences, and practical recommendations on research and innovation for big data. The contributions are grouped into four parts: * Part I: Ecosystem Elements of Big Data Value focuses on establishing the big data value ecosystem using a holistic approach to make it attractive and valuable to all stakeholders. * Part II: Research and Innovation Elements of Big Data Value details the key technical and capability challenges to be addressed for delivering big data value. * Part III: Business, Policy, and Societal Elements of Big Data Value investigates the need to make more efficient use of big data and understanding that data is an asset that has significant potential for the economy and society. * Part IV: Emerging Elements of Big Data Value explores the critical elements to maximizing the future potential of big data value. Overall, readers are provided with insights which can support them in creating data-driven solutions, organizations, and productive data ecosystems. The material represents the results of a collective effort undertaken by the European data community as part of the Big Data Value Public-Private Partnership (PPP) between the European Commission and the Big Data Value Association (BDVA) to boost data-driven digital transformation.

Data clustering is a highly interdisciplinary field, the goal of which is to divide a set of objects into homogeneous groups such that objects in the same group are similar and objects in different groups are quite distinct. Thousands of theoretical papers and a number of books on data clustering have been published over the past 50 years. However, few books exist to teach people how to implement data clustering algorithms. This book was written for anyone who wants to implement or improve their data clustering algorithms. Using object-oriented design and programming techniques, Data Clustering in C++ exploits the commonalities of all data clustering algorithms to create a flexible set of reusable classes that simplifies the implementation of any data clustering algorithm. Readers can follow the development of the base data clustering classes and several popular data clustering algorithms. Additional topics such as data pre-processing, data visualization, cluster visualization, and cluster interpretation are briefly covered. This book is divided into three parts-- Data Clustering and C++ Preliminaries: A review of basic concepts of data clustering, the unified modeling language, object-oriented programming in C++, and design patterns A C++ Data Clustering Framework: The development of data clustering base classes Data Clustering Algorithms: The implementation of several popular data clustering algorithms A key to learning a clustering algorithm is to implement and experiment the clustering algorithm. Complete listings of classes, examples, unit test cases, and GNU configuration files are included in the appendices of this book as well as in the downloadable resources. The only requirements to compile the code are a modern C++ compiler and the Boost C++ libraries.

Construct, analyze, and visualize networks with networkx, a Python language module. Network analysis is a powerful tool you can apply to a multitude of datasets and situations. Discover how to work with all kinds of networks, including social, product, temporal, spatial, and semantic networks. Convert almost any real-world data into a complex network--such as recommendations on co-using cosmetic products, muddy hedge fund connections, and online friendships. Analyze and visualize the network, and make business decisions based on your analysis. If you're a curious Python programmer, a data scientist, or a CNA specialist interested in mechanizing mundane tasks, you'll increase your productivity exponentially. Complex network analysis used to be done by hand or with non-programmable network analysis tools, but not anymore! You can now automate and program these tasks in Python. Complex networks are collections of connected items, words, concepts, or people. By exploring their structure and individual elements, we can learn about their meaning, evolution, and resilience. Starting with simple networks, convert real-life and synthetic network graphs into networkx data structures. Look at more sophisticated networks and learn more powerful machinery to handle centrality calculation, blockmodeling, and clique and community detection. Get familiar with presentation-quality network visualization tools, both programmable and interactive--such as Gephi, a CNA explorer. Adapt the patterns from the case studies to your problems. Explore big networks with NetworKit, a high-performance networkx substitute. Each part in the book gives you an overview of a class of networks, includes a practical study of networkx functions and techniques, and concludes with case studies from various fields, including social networking, anthropology, marketing, and sports analytics. Combine your CNA and Python programming skills to become a better network analyst, a more accomplished data scientist, and a more versatile programmer. What You Need: You will need a Python 3.x installation with the following additional modules: Pandas (>=0.18), NumPy (>=1.10), matplotlib (>=1.5), networkx (>=1.11), python-louvain (>=0.5), NetworKit (>=3.6), and generalizesimilarity. We recommend using the Anaconda distribution that comes with all these modules, except for python-louvain, NetworKit, and generalizedsimilarity, and works on all major modern operating systems.

This unique volume is an introduction for computer scientists, including a formal study of theoretical algorithms for Big Data applications, which allows them to work on such algorithms in the future. It also serves as a useful reference guide for the general computer science population, providing a comprehensive overview of the fascinating world of such algorithms.To achieve these goals, the algorithmic results presented have been carefully chosen so that they demonstrate the important techniques and tools used in Big Data algorithms, and yet do not require tedious calculations or a very deep mathematical background.

Gain the basics of Ruby's map, reduce, and select functions and discover how to use them to solve data-processing problems. This compact hands-on book explains how you can encode certain complex programs in 10 lines of Ruby code, an astonishingly small number. You will walk through problems and solutions which are effective because they use map, reduce, and select. As you read Ruby Data Processing, type in the code, run the code, and ponder the results. Tweak the code to test the code and see how the results change. After reading this book, you will have a deeper understanding of how to break data-processing problems into processing stages, each of which is understandable, debuggable, and composable, and how to combine the stages to solve your data-processing problem. As a result, your Ruby coding will become more efficient and your programs will be more elegant and robust. What You Will Learn Discover Ruby data processing and how to do it using the map, reduce, and select functions Develop complex solutions including debugging, randomizing, sorting, grouping, and more Reverse engineer complex data-processing solutions Who This Book Is For Those who have at least some prior experience programming in Ruby and who have a background and interest in data analysis and processing using Ruby.

Data has dramatically changed how our world works. Understanding and using data is now one of the most transferable and desirable skills out there - whether you're an entrepreneur wanting to boost your business, a job-seeker looking for that employable edge, or hoping to make the most of your current career. Learning how to work with data may seem intimidating or difficult - but don't worry, Confident Data Skills is here to help. This updated second edition takes you through the basics of data: from data mining and preparing and analyzing your data, to visualizing and communicating your insights, and now with exciting new content on neural networks and deep learning. Featuring in-depth international case studies from companies like Netflix, LinkedIn and Mike's Hard Lemonade Co., as well as easy-to understand language and inspiring advice and guidance, Confident Data Skills help you use your new-found data skills to give your career that cutting-edge boost. About the Confident series... From coding and web design to data, digital content and cyber security, the Confident books are the perfect beginner's resource for enhancing your professional life, whatever your career path..

This SpringerBrief reviews the knowledge engineering problem of engineering objectivity in top-k query answering; essentially, answers must be computed taking into account the user's preferences and a collection of (subjective) reports provided by other users. Most assume each report can be seen as a set of scores for a list of features, its author's preferences among the features, as well as other information is discussed in this brief. These pieces of information for every report are then combined, along with the querying user's preferences and their trust in each report, to rank the query results. Everyday examples of this setup are the online reviews that can be found in sites like Amazon, Trip Advisor, and Yelp, among many others. Throughout this knowledge engineering effort the authors adopt the Datalog+/- family of ontology languages as the underlying knowledge representation and reasoning formalism, and investigate several alternative ways in which rankings can b e derived, along with algorithms for top-k (atomic) query answering under these rankings. This SpringerBrief also investigate assumptions under which our algorithms run in polynomial time in the data complexity. Since this SpringerBrief contains a gentle introduction to the main building blocks (OBDA, Datalog+/-, and reasoning with preferences), it should be of value to students, researchers, and practitioners who are interested in the general problem of incorporating user preferences into related formalisms and tools. Practitioners also interested in using Ontology-based Data Access to leverage information contained in reviews of products and services for a better customer experience will be interested in this brief and researchers working in the areas of Ontological Languages, Semantic Web, Data Provenance, and Reasoning with Preferences.