Practical Machine Learning in R

Introduction

Machine learning is changing the world. Every organization, large and small, seeks to extract knowledge from the massive amounts of information that they store and process on a daily basis. The tantalizing desire to predict the future drives the work of business analysts and data scientists in fields ranging from marketing to healthcare. Our goal with this book is to make the tools of analytics approachable for a broad audience.

The R programming language is a purpose-specific language designed to facilitate statistical analysis and machine learning. We choose it for this book not only due to its strong popularity in the field but also because of its intuitive nature, particularly for individuals approaching it as their first programming language.

There are many books on the market that cover practical applications of machine learning, designed for businesspeople and onlookers. Likewise, there are many deeply technical resources that dive into the mathematics and computer science of machine learning. In this book, we strive to bridge these two worlds. We attempt to bring the reader an intuitive introduction to machine learning with an eye on the practical applications of machine learning in today's world. At the same time, we don't shy away from code. As we do in our undergraduate and graduate courses, we seek to make the R programming language accessible to everyone. Our hope is that you will read this book with your laptop open next to you, following along with ...