Data science

Data science is an interdisciplinary field that uses scientific methods,

methods, processes, algorithms and
data,[1]
systems to extract knowledge and insights from noisy, structured and unstructured data,[1][2]
[2] and

apply knowledge from data across a broad range of application domains. Data science is related
to data mining, machine learning and big data.

The existence of Comet NEOWISE (here depicted as a series of red dots) was discovered by analyzing astronomical
survey data acquired by a space telescope, the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer.

Data science is a "concept to unify statistics, data analysis, informatics, and their related
methods" in order to "understand and analyse actual phenomena" with data.[3] It uses
techniques and theories drawn from many fields within the context of mathematics, statistics,
computer science, information science, and domain knowledge.[4] However, data science is
different from computer science and information science. Turing Award winner Jim Gray
imagined data science as a "fourth paradigm" of science (empirical, theoretical, computational,
and now data-driven) and asserted that "everything about science is changing because of the
impact of information technology" and the data deluge.[5][6]

A data scientist is someone who creates programming code and combines it with statistical
knowledge to create insights from data.[7]

Foundations

Data science is an interdisciplinary field focused on extracting knowledge from typically large
data sets and applying the knowledge and insights from that data to solve problems in a wide
range of application domains.[8] The field encompasses preparing data for analysis, formulating
data science problems, analyzing data, developing data-driven solutions, and presenting findings
to inform high-level decisions in a broad range of application domains. As such, it incorporates
skills from computer science, statistics, information science, mathematics, data visualization,
information visualization, data sonification, data integration, graphic design, complex systems,
communication and business.[9][10] Statistician Nathan Yau, drawing on Ben Fry, also links data
science to human–computer interaction: users should be able to intuitively control and explore
data.[11][12] In 2015, the American Statistical Association identified database management,
statistics and machine learning, and distributed and parallel systems as the three emerging
foundational professional communities.[13]

Relationship to statistics

Many statisticians, including Nate Silver, have argued that data science is not a new field, but
rather another name for statistics.[14] Others argue that data science is distinct from statistics
because it focuses on problems and techniques unique to digital data.[15] Vasant Dhar writes
that statistics emphasizes quantitative data and description. In contrast, data science deals with
quantitative and qualitative data (e.g. images) and emphasizes prediction and action.[16] Andrew
Gelman of Columbia University has described statistics as a nonessential part of data
science.[17]

Stanford professor David Donoho writes that data science is not distinguished from statistics by
the size of datasets or use of computing, and that many graduate programs misleadingly
advertise their analytics and statistics training as the essence of a data-science program. He
describes data science as an applied field growing out of traditional statistics.[18]
In summary, data science can be therefore described as an applied branch of statistics.

Etymology

Early usage

In 1962, John Tukey described a field he called "data analysis", which resembles modern data
science.[18] In 1985, in a lecture given to the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing, C. F. Jeff
Wu used the term "data science" for the first time as an alternative name for statistics.[19] Later,
attendees at a 1992 statistics symposium at the University of Montpellier II acknowledged the
emergence of a new discipline focused on data of various origins and forms, combining
established concepts and principles of statistics and data analysis with computing.[20][21]

The term "data science" has been traced back to 1974, when Peter Naur proposed it as an
alternative name for computer science.[22] In 1996, the International Federation of Classification
Societies became the first conference to specifically feature data science as a topic.[22] However,
the definition was still in flux. After the 1985 lecture in the Chinese Academy of Sciences in
Beijing, in 1997 C. F. Jeff Wu again suggested that statistics should be renamed data science.
He reasoned that a new name would help statistics shed inaccurate stereotypes, such as being
synonymous with accounting, or limited to describing data.[23] In 1998, Hayashi Chikio argued
for data science as a new, interdisciplinary concept, with three aspects: data design, collection,
and analysis.[21]

During the 1990s, popular terms for the process of finding patterns in datasets (which were
increasingly large) included "knowledge discovery" and "data mining".[24][22]

Modern usage

The modern conception of data science as an independent discipline is sometimes attributed to

William S. Cleveland.[25] In a 2001 paper, he advocated an expansion of statistics beyond theory
into technical areas; because this would significantly change the field, it warranted a new
name.[24] "Data science" became more widely used in the next few years: in 2002, the Committee
on Data for Science and Technology launched Data Science Journal. In 2003, Columbia
University launched The Journal of Data Science.[24] In 2014, the American Statistical
Association's Section on Statistical Learning and Data Mining changed its name to the Section
on Statistical Learning and Data Science, reflecting the ascendant popularity of data science.[26]
The professional title of "data scientist" has been attributed to DJ Patil and Jeff Hammerbacher
in 2008.[27] Though it was used by the National Science Board in their 2005 report "Long-Lived
Digital Data Collections: Enabling Research and Education in the 21st Century", it referred
broadly to any key role in managing a digital data collection.[28]

There is still no consensus on the definition of data science, and it is considered by some to be a
buzzword.[29] Big data is a related marketing term.[30] Data scientists are responsible for
breaking down big data into usable information and creating software and algorithms that help
companies and organizations determine optimal operations.[31]

See also

International Journal of Population Data Science

References

1. Dhar, V. (2013). "Data science and prediction" (http://cacm.acm.org/magazines/2013/12/169933-data-sc

ience-and-prediction/fulltext) . Communications of the ACM. 56 (12): 64–73. doi:10.1145/2500499 (htt
ps://doi.org/10.1145%2F2500499) . S2CID 6107147 (https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:6107
147) . Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20141109113411/http://cacm.acm.org/magazines/2013/
12/169933-data-science-and-prediction/fulltext) from the original on 9 November 2014. Retrieved
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2. Jeff Leek (12 December 2013). "The key word in "Data Science" is not Data, it is Science" (http://simplyst
atistics.org/2013/12/12/the-key-word-in-data-science-is-not-data-it-is-science/) . Simply Statistics.
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3. Hayashi, Chikio (1 January 1998). "What is Data Science? Fundamental Concepts and a Heuristic
Example" (https://www.springer.com/book/9784431702085) . In Hayashi, Chikio; Yajima, Keiji; Bock,
Hans-Hermann; Ohsumi, Noboru; Tanaka, Yutaka; Baba, Yasumasa (eds.). Data Science, Classification,
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4. Cao, Longbing (29 June 2017). "Data Science: A Comprehensive Overview". ACM Computing Surveys. 50
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6. Bell, G.; Hey, T.; Szalay, A. (2009). "Computer Science: Beyond the Data Deluge". Science. 323 (5919):
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49363871/ch01.html) . Doing Data Science [Book]. O’Reilly. Retrieved 3 April 2020.

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11. Yau, Nathan (4 June 2009). "Rise of the Data Scientist" (https://flowingdata.com/2009/06/04/rise-of-the-
data-scientist/) . FlowingData. Retrieved 3 April 2020.

12. "Basic Example" (https://benfry.com/phd/dissertation/2.html) . benfry.com. Retrieved 3 April 2020.

13. "ASA Statement on the Role of Statistics in Data Science" (https://magazine.amstat.org/blog/2015/10/0

1/asa-statement-on-the-role-of-statistics-in-data-science/) . AMSTATNEWS. American Statistical
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14. "Nate Silver: What I need from statisticians" (https://www.statisticsviews.com/article/nate-silver-what-i-n

eed-from-statisticians/) . Statistics Views. Retrieved 3 April 2020.

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nce-between-data-science-and/) . Priceonomics. Retrieved 3 April 2020.

16. Vasant Dhar (1 December 2013). "Data science and prediction". Communications of the ACM. 56 (12):
64–73. doi:10.1145/2500499 (https://doi.org/10.1145%2F2500499) . S2CID 6107147 (https://api.sema
nticscholar.org/CorpusID:6107147) .

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nce/) . statmodeling.stat.columbia.edu. Retrieved 3 April 2020.
18. Donoho, David (18 September 2015). "50 years of Data Science" (http://courses.csail.mit.edu/18.337/201
5/docs/50YearsDataScience.pdf) (PDF). Retrieved 2 April 2020.

19. Wu, C. F. Jeff (1986). "Future directions of statistical research in China: a historical perspective" (https://
www2.isye.gatech.edu/~jeffwu/publications/fazhan.pdf) (PDF). Application of Statistics and
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20. Escoufier, Yves; Hayashi, Chikio; Fichet, Bernard, eds. (1995). Data science and its applications. Tokyo:
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489990740) .

21. Murtagh, Fionn; Devlin, Keith (2018). "The Development of Data Science: Implications for Education,
Employment, Research, and the Data Revolution for Sustainable Development" (https://doi.org/10.3390%
2Fbdcc2020014) . Big Data and Cognitive Computing. 2 (2): 14. doi:10.3390/bdcc2020014 (https://doi.
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22. CaoLongbing (29 June 2017). "Data Science" (https://doi.org/10.1145%2F3076253) . ACM Computing
Surveys. 50 (3): 1–42. arXiv:2007.03606 (https://arxiv.org/abs/2007.03606) . doi:10.1145/3076253 (htt
ps://doi.org/10.1145%2F3076253) .

23. Wu, C. F. Jeff. "Statistics=Data Science?" (http://www2.isye.gatech.edu/~jeffwu/presentations/datascien

ce.pdf) (PDF). Retrieved 2 April 2020.

24. Press, Gil. "A Very Short History of Data Science" (https://www.forbes.com/sites/gilpress/2013/05/28/a-
very-short-history-of-data-science/) . Forbes. Retrieved 3 April 2020.

25. Gupta, Shanti (11 December 2015). "William S. Cleveland" (https://www.stat.purdue.edu/~wsc/) .

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26. Talley, Jill (1 June 2016). "ASA Expands Scope, Outreach to Foster Growth, Collaboration in Data Science"
(https://magazine.amstat.org/blog/2016/06/01/datascience-2/) . Amstat News. American Statistical
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27. Davenport, Thomas H.; Patil, D. J. (1 October 2012). "Data Scientist: The Sexiest Job of the 21st Century"
(https://hbr.org/2012/10/data-scientist-the-sexiest-job-of-the-21st-century) . Harvard Business Review.
No. October 2012. ISSN 0017-8012 (https://www.worldcat.org/issn/0017-8012) . Retrieved 3 April 2020.

28. "US NSF – NSB-05-40, Long-Lived Digital Data Collections Enabling Research and Education in the 21st
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29. Press, Gil. "Data Science: What's The Half-Life of a Buzzword?" (https://www.forbes.com/sites/gilpress/2
013/08/19/data-science-whats-the-half-life-of-a-buzzword/) . Forbes. Retrieved 3 April 2020.

30. Pham, Peter. "The Impacts of Big Data That You May Not Have Heard Of" (https://www.forbes.com/sites/
peterpham/2015/08/28/the-impacts-of-big-data-that-you-may-not-have-heard-of/) . Forbes. Retrieved
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31. Martin, Sophia (20 September 2019). "How Data Science will Impact Future of Businesses?" (https://towa
rdsdatascience.com/how-data-science-will-impact-future-of-businesses-7f11f5699c4d) . Medium.
Retrieved 3 April 2020.

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