The aim of the book is to help students become data scientists. Since this requires a series of courses over a considerable period of time, the book intends to accompany students from the beginning to an advanced understanding of the knowledge and skills that define a modern data scientist. The book presents a comprehensive overview of the mathematical foundations of the programming language R and of its applications to data science.

The textbook provides students with tools they need to analyze complex data using methods from data science, machine learning and artificial intelligence. The authors include both the presentation of methods along with applications using the programming language R, which is the gold standard for analyzing data. The authors cover all three main components of data science: computer science; mathematics and statistics; and domain knowledge. The book presents methods and implementations in R side-by-side, allowing the immediate practical application of the learning concepts. Furthermore, this teaches computational thinking in a natural way. The book includes exercises, case studies, Q&A and examples.