What Data Scientists Do

Question 1

What example did Dr. Murtaza Haider investigate to demonstrate the role of a data scientist?

Answer 1

Dr. Haider found a relationship between unexpected bad weather and the number of public transit complaints in Toronto.

Question 2

How can data scientists help tackle environmental challenges like water toxicity?

Answer 2

By using artificial neural networks, data scientists can help predict algae blooms and safeguard ecosystems.

Question 3

What did Norman White build that simplified intricate problems across departments?

Answer 3

He built a recommendation engine.

Question 4

What educational tools does Dr. White use to teach future data scientists?

Answer 4

Python notebooks, Unix, Linux, relational databases, and tools like Pandas.

Question 5

What educational backgrounds does Dr. Vincent Granville list as necessary for a data scientist?

Answer 5

Algebra, calculus, training in probability, and statistics.

Question 6

What is the difference between a statistician and a data scientist according to Dr. Granville?

Answer 6

A data scientist uses statistics, but is not only a statistician.

Question 7

What is statistical regression used for?

Answer 7

To show the probable relationship between two variables, such as distance driven and gas used.

Question 8

What machine learning algorithm is mentioned in the text for processing big data?

Answer 8

Nearest neighbor.

Question 9

Why should the term ‘big data’ be used with caution?

Answer 9

Because what was once considered big data is constantly evolving due to innovation.

Question 10

What tools have expanded the possibilities for handling big data?

Answer 10

Tools like Hadoop and software advancements have expanded the limits for handling data.

Question 11

What sets a data scientist apart according to Dr. Patel?

Answer 11

Their ability to unlock insights and convey compelling narratives to stakeholders.

Question 12

What types of data do data scientists work with?

Answer 12

Data from a wide variety of sources, including video, audio, and text (structured and unstructured).

Question 13

What are some common data formats used by data scientists?

Answer 13

Delimited text files, spreadsheets, XML, PDFs, and JSON.

Question 14

What quality does Rachel Schutt highlight as making a data scientist exceptional?

Answer 14

Curiosity.

Question 15

What skills and roles does a data scientist combine, according to Rachel Schutt?

Answer 15

A blend of computer scientist, software engineer, and statistician.

Question 16

What defines a data scientist’s prowess according to Rachel Schutt?

Answer 16

Their ability to transform unstructured solutions into structured insights.

Question 17

What are Comma-separated values (CSV) / Tab-separated values (TSV)?

Answer 17

Commonly used format for storing tabular data as plain text where either the comma or the tab separates each value.

Question 18

What are data file types?

Answer 18

A computer file configuration designed to store data in a specific way.

Question 19

What is a data format?

Answer 19

How data is encoded so it can be stored within a data file type.

Question 20

What is data visualization?

Answer 20

A visual way, such as a graph, of representing data in a readily understandable way makes it easier to see trends in the data.

Question 21

What is a delimited text file?

Answer 21

A plain text file where a specific character separates the data values.

Question 22

What is Extensible Markup Language (XML)?

Answer 22

A language designed to structure, store, and enable data exchange between various technologies.

Question 23

What is Hadoop?

Answer 23

An open-source framework designed to store and process large datasets across clusters of computers.

Question 24

What is JavaScript Object Notation (JSON)?

Answer 24

A data format compatible with various programming languages for two applications to exchange structured data.

Question 25

What are Jupyter notebooks?

Answer 25

A computational environment that allows users to create and share documents containing code, equations, visualizations, and explanatory text.

Question 26

What is nearest neighbor in machine learning?

Answer 26

A machine learning algorithm that predicts a target variable based on its similarity to other values in the dataset.

Question 27

What are neural networks?

Answer 27

A computational model used in deep learning that mimics the structure and functioning of the human brain’s neural pathways.

Question 28

What is Pandas?

Answer 28

An open-source Python library that provides tools for working with structured data, often used for data manipulation and analysis.