Statistical methods are a key part of data science, yet few data scientists have formal statistical training. Courses and books on basic statistics rarely cover the topic from a data science perspective. And many data science resources incorporate statistical methods but lack a deeper statistical perspective. If you're familiar with the R or Python programming languages and have some exposure to statistics, this quick reference bridges the gap in an accessible, readable format.

Statistical methods are a key part of data science, yet few data scientists have formal statistical training. Courses and books on basic statistics rarely cover the topic from a data science perspective. The second edition of this popular guide adds comprehensive examples in Python, provides practical guidance on applying statistical methods to data science, tells you how to avoid their misuse, and gives you advice on what’s important and what’s not. Many data science resources incorporate statistical methods but lack a deeper statistical perspective. If you’re familiar with the R or Python programming languages and have some exposure to statistics, this quick reference bridges the gap in an accessible, readable format. With this book, you’ll learn: Why exploratory data analysis is a key preliminary step in data science How random sampling can reduce bias and yield a higher-quality dataset, even with big data How the principles of experimental design yield definitive answers to questions How to use regression to estimate outcomes and detect anomalies Key classification techniques for predicting which categories a record belongs to Statistical machine learning methods that "learn" from data Unsupervised learning methods for extracting meaning from unlabeled data

Statistical methods are a key part of of data science, yet very few data scientists have any formal statistics training. Courses and books on basic statistics rarely cover the topic from a data science perspective. This practical guide explains how to apply various statistical methods to data science, tells you how to avoid their misuse, and gives you advice on what's important and what's not. Many data science resources incorporate statistical methods but lack a deeper statistical perspective. If you’re familiar with the R programming language, and have some exposure to statistics, this quick reference bridges the gap in an accessible, readable format. With this book, you’ll learn: Why exploratory data analysis is a key preliminary step in data science How random sampling can reduce bias and yield a higher quality dataset, even with big data How the principles of experimental design yield definitive answers to questions How to use regression to estimate outcomes and detect anomalies Key classification techniques for predicting which categories a record belongs to Statistical machine learning methods that “learn” from data Unsupervised learning methods for extracting meaning from unlabeled data

Data scientists are faced with the need to conduct continual experiments, particularly regarding user interface and product marketing. Designing experiments is a cornerstone of the practice of statistics, with clear application to data science. In this lesson, you’ll learn about A-B testing and hypothesis, or significance tests—critical aspects of experimental design for data science. What you’ll learn—and how you can apply it You will learn the central concepts of A-B testing, understand its role in designing and conducting data science experiments, and the characteristics of a proper A-B test. Through a series of sample tests, you’ll learn how to interpret results, and apply that insight to your analysis of the data. Since A-B tests are typically constructed with a hypothesis in mind, you’ll also learn how to conduct various hypothesis, or significance tests, enabling you to avoid misinterpreting randomness. This lesson is for you because You are a data scientist or analyst working with data, and want to gain beginner-level knowledge of key statistical concepts to improve the design, and outcome of your experimental tests with data. Prerequisites: Basic familiarity with coding in R Materials or downloads needed: n/a