COUSRSE 1: Foundations: Data, Data,

Everywhere

WEEK 1

• Data is a collection of facts. This collection can include

numbers, pictures, videos, words, measurements,
observations

• Data analysis is the collection, transformation, and

organization of data to draw conclusions, make
predictions, and drive informed decision-making.

• A data analyst is someone who collects, transforms, and

organizes data to help make informed decisions.

• The six steps of the data analysis process that you have
been learning in this program are: ask, prepare,
process, analyze, share, and act.

• Data ecosystems are made up of various elements that

interact with one another in order to produce, manage, store,
organize, analyze, and share data.
Data analytics in the simplest terms is the science of data. It's a
very broad concept that encompasses everything from the job of
managing and using data to the tools and methods that data
workers use each and every day. So when you think about data,
data analysis and the data ecosystem, it's important to understand
that all of these things fit under the data analytics umbrella

Data-driven decision-making is defined as using facts to guide

business strategy.

Intuitive means: using or based on what one feels to be true

even without conscious reasoning

Data analysis processes

1. Ask: Business Challenge/Objective/Question

2. Prepare: Data generation, collection, storage, and data

management

3. Process: Data cleaning/data integrity (accuracy, reliability and

consistency of stored data over its entire life cycle)

4. Analyse: Data exploration, visualization, and analysis

5. Share: Communicating and interpreting results

6. Act: Putting your insights to work to solve the problem

Week 2

All about skills of data analyst

Analytical skills are qualities and characteristics

associated with solving problems using facts.

1.CURIOSITY
2. UNDERSTANDING CONTEXT(listening carefully and understanding
the full picture and The analytical skill that has to do with how you
group things into categories)
3. TECHNICAL MINDSET (breaking the problem into pieces and
solving them organizing them logically)
4. DATA DESIGN (how u organize data in the database or simply
organize data)

5. DATA STRATEGY ( management of people ,processes, and tools in

data analysis)
Analytical thinking
Analytical thinking involves identifying and defining a problem and
then solving it by using data in an organized, step-by-step manner.

They are
1 visualization.

2 strategy ( Strategizing helps data analysts see what they want to

achieve with the data and how they can get there. Strategy also
helps improve the quality and usefulness of the data we collect.)
3 problem-orientation.

4 correlation ( You can find all kinds of correlations in data. Maybe

it's the relationship between the length of your hair and the
amount of shampoo you need ,just because two pieces of data are
both trending in the same direction, that doesn't necessarily mean
they are all related)
5 big-picture and detail-oriented thinking.
Week 3

DATA LIFE CYCLE

1.PLAN During planning, a business decides what kind of data it

needs, how it will be managed throughout its life cycle, who will be
responsible for it, and the optimal outcomes.
2.CAPTURE This is where data is collected from a variety of different
Sources and brought into the organization . Usually from publicly
available dataset OR company's own documents and
files, which are usually stored inside a database
WHEN YOU MAINTAIN A DATABASE OF CUSTOMER
INFORMATION, ENSURING DATA INTEGRITY,
CREDIBILITY, AND PRIVACY ARE ALL IMPORTANT CONCERNS

3.MANAGE how we care for our data, how and where it's
stored, the tools used to keep it safe and secure, and the actions
taken to make sure that it's maintained properly. This phase is very
important to data cleansing.
4.ANALYZE In this phase, the data is used to solve problems, make
great decisions, and support business goals.

5.ARCHIVE Archiving means storing data in a place where it's still

available but may not be used again.
6.DESTROY →(They would have data stored on multiple hard
drives. To destroy it, the company would use a secure data erasure
software. If there were any paper files, they would be shredded
too. This is important for protecting a company's private
information, as well as private data about its customers.)
Be careful not to mix up or confuse the six stages of the data life
cycle (Plan, Capture, Manage, Analyze, Archive, and Destroy) with
the six phases of the data analysis life cycle (Ask, Prepare,
Process, Analyze, Share, and Act). They shouldn't be used or
referred to interchangeably.
 Difference between spreadsheets and
databases

Spreadsheets
Software applications
Structure data in a row and
column format
Organize information in cells
Provide access to a limited
amount of data
Manual data entry
Generally one user at a time
Controlled by the user
Databases
Data stores - accessed using a query
language (e.g. SQL)
Structure data using rules and
relationships
Organize information in complex
collections
Provide access to huge amounts of
data
Strict and consistent data entry
Multiple users
Controlled by a database management
system
Week 4

SQL : Structured Query Language

A query is a request for data or information from a database.

The syntax of every SQL query is the same:

• Use SELECT to choose the columns you want to return.

• Use FROM to choose the tables where the columns you want
are located.
• Use WHERE to filter for certain information.

• Multiple columns in a query

• In real life, you will need to work with more data beyond
customers named Tony. Multiple columns that are chosen by
the same SELECT command can be indented and grouped
together.
• If you are requesting multiple data fields from a table, you
need to include these columns in your SELECT command.
Each column is separated by a comma as shown below:
Selecting multiple columns and using AND operator to give more
than one condition.

if you are looking for all customers with a last name that begins
with the letters “Ch," the WHERE clause would be:

You create a SQL query similar to below, where <> means "does
not equal.