Python for Data Analysis, 3rd Edition

Chapter 12. Introduction to Modeling Libraries in Python

In this book, I have focused on providing a programming foundation for doing data analysis in Python. Since data analysts and scientists often report spending a disproportionate amount of time with data wrangling and preparation, the book’s structure reflects the importance of mastering these techniques.

Which library you use for developing models will depend on the application. Many statistical problems can be solved by simpler techniques like ordinary least squares regression, while other problems may call for more advanced machine learning methods. Fortunately, Python has become one of the languages of choice for implementing analytical methods, so there are many tools you can explore after completing this book.

In this chapter, I will review some features of pandas that may be helpful when you’re crossing back and forth between data wrangling with pandas and model fitting and scoring. I will then give short introductions to two popular modeling toolkits, statsmodels and scikit-learn. Since each of these projects is large enough to warrant its own dedicated book, I make no effort to be comprehensive and instead direct you to both projects’ online documentation along with some other Python-based books on data science, statistics, and machine learning.

12.1 Interfacing Between pandas and Model Code

A common workflow for model development is to use pandas for data loading and cleaning before switching over to a modeling library ...