Data Science Programming All-in-One For Dummies

Chapter 1

Manipulating Raw Data

IN THIS CHAPTER

Obtaining data

Defining the forms of data

Making data access reliable

Data scientists not only work with data but also spend considerable time pursuing data from various sources. Sometimes this pursuit resembles that of a detective ferreting out clues from arcane sources. Consequently, any in-depth conversation about data, as you see it in later chapters of this minibook, must begin with the simple idea of obtaining data in a manner that will prove useful for analysis later. The acquisition of raw data in various forms is the focus of this chapter.

If you find it surprising that a data scientist doesn’t automatically know where to find a particular piece of information, consider the vastness of data today. Looking for a needle in a haystack is easy compared to locating that much-needed piece of data from all the sources that a data scientist has available. In some cases, you find that you must generate data with specific characteristics to perform tests that validate assumptions about raw data, so the data you need may not even exist until you create it. The first section of this chapter looks at raw data sources.

Recognizing the ...