Utrecht, Netherlands

Data Science: Data Analysis

The course Data science: Data Analysis offers a range of techniques and algorithms from statistics, machine learning and data mining to make predictions about future events and to uncover hidden structures in data. The course has a strong practical focus; participants actively learn how to apply these techniques to real data and how to interpret their results. The course covers both classical and modern topics in data analysis.

What puts former criminals on the right track? How can we prevent heart disease? Can Twitter predict election outcomes? What does a violent brain look like? How many social classes does 21st century society have? Are hospitals spending too much on health care, or too little?

Statistical learning is the art and science of tackling questions like these by analysing data. Just as cartographers make maps to see what a country looks like, data analysts make graphics that reveal hidden structures in the data. And just as doctors diagnose sick patients and advise healthy ones on how to stay healthy, data analysts predict the consequences of actions and/or events so we can act on that knowledge. Methods from statistics, data mining, and machine learning play an important part in this process.

The course has a strong practical character; the focus is not on the mathematics behind the methods but on the principles that make them work. Participants learn how to apply these methods to real data and how to interpret the results. The course covers both classical and modern topics in data analysis.

Prerequisities:

Basic knowledge of the statistical software program R is required (e.g. of the level of the Summer School Data Science: Statistical Programming with R or the online e-book R for Data Science by Hadley Wickham).

Participants are requested to bring their own laptop computer. Software will be available online.

This course is part of a series of 5 courses in the Summer School Data Science specialisation taught by UU’s department of Methodology & Statistics. Please see here for more information about the full specialisation. This course can also be taken separately.

Summer School Data Science specialisation:

Data science: Statistical Programming with R (S24)
Data science: Multiple Imputation in Practice (S28)
Data science: Introduction to Text Mining with R (S41)
Data science: Data analysis
Data science: Applied Text Mining (S42)
Upon completing 3 out of 5 courses in the specialisation (no more than one text mining course), students can obtain a certificate. Each course may also be taken separately.

Please note that there is always the possibility that we have to change the course pending COVID19-related developments. The exact details, including a day-to-day program, will be communicated 6 weeks prior to the start of the course.

Course leader

Dr. Maarten Cruyff

Target group

Applied researchers and master students from applied fields such as sociology, psychology, education, political science, public policy, quantitative criminology, human development, marketing, management, biology, medicine, computational linguistics, communication sciences.

A maximum of 60 participants will be allowed in this course. Please note that the selection for this course will be done on a first-come-first-served basis.

Course aim

This course aims to provide you with hands-on experience applying classical as well as modern statistical learning techniques, using R.

Fee info

EUR 850: Course + course materials
EUR 250: Housing fee (optional)