Data Scientist : Making Sense Out of Data
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Data Scientist : Making Sense Out of Data
Prof . ( Dr .) S SHYAM PRASAD , Professor – Marketing , ISME
About data scientists
The growth of InformationTechnology has spawned many new professions ; the evolution of big data has ushered in a new career line of data scientist . This article attempts to answer a ) what is data science b ) who is a data scientist ? c ) What does he do ? and d ) Why is this job attracting much attention ?
Who is a data scientist ?
A data scientist job has evolved from the business or data analyst role . Data scientists source rich data sets , analyze them , create visual representation of the data , build mathematical models and prepare reports on their findings . A data scientist uses varied techniques and theories drawn from wide variety of fields such as mathematics , statistics , operations research , information science , and computer science , including signal processing , probability models , machine learning , statistical learning , data mining , database , data engineering , pattern recognition and learning , visualization , predictive analytics , uncertainty modeling , data warehousing , data compression , computer programming , artificial intelligence , and high performance computing . Data scientists ’ role encompasses the whole gamut of data analysis in contrast to the traditional roles of data analyst .
Anjul Bhambhri , vice president of big data products at IBM , says , “ A data scientist is somebody who is inquisitive , who can stare at data and spot trends . It ’ s almost like a Renaissance individual who really wants to learn and bring change to an organization .” A good data scientist also needs to possess strong business intellect and flair to communicate findings to his or her business managers in an appropriate manner . The data scientist needs have an eye for detail as well as the ablility to see the big picture .
The difference between a traditional data analyst and a data scientist is that the former may look only at data from a single source – for example from sales system – whereas a data scientist examines data from multiple sources . His job is not just report on data but to look at it from multiple angles and discern what it means and report .
The job of a data scientist
The job of a data scientist is a dynamic one . Data scientists work on all kinds of data such as aircraft flying data , footballer ’ s performance data , court case data , poll performance data , tax payers spending data , peoples ’ health data , credit card holders ’ usage data and so on . One
4 DYNAMISM ( E )