A Practical Intro to Data Science

There are plenty of articles and discussions on the web about what data science is, what qualities define a data scientist, how to nurture them, and how you should position yourself to be a competitive applicant. There are far fewer resources out there about the steps to take in order to obtain the skills necessary to practice this elusive discipline. Here we will provide a collection of freely accessible materials and content to jumpstart your understanding of the theory and tools of Data Science.

At Zipfian Academy, we believe that everyone learns at different paces and in different ways. If you prefer a more structured and intentional learning environment, we run a 12 week immersive bootcamp training people to become data scientists through hands-on projects and real-world applications. We also host a free Skillshare course covering much of this material at a high level.

We would love to hear your opinions on what qualities make great data scientists, what a data science curriculum should cover, and what skills are most valuable for data scientists to know. Share your thoughts over at Hacker News!

_While the information contained in these resources is a great guide and reference, the best way to become a data scientist is to make, create, and share!

Here are a few observations inspired by conversations I had during the just concluded PyData conference¹.

The Python data community is well-organized:

A picture is worth a thousand words, but creating cool infographics can be time-consuming. So we've found 20 amazing tools to make it easier.

It’s often said that data is the new world currency, and the web is the exchange bureau through which it’s traded. As consumers, we’re positively swimming in data; it's everywhere from food labels to World Health Organisation reports. As a result, for the designer it’s becoming increasingly difficult to present data in a way that stands out from the mass of competing data streams.

One of the best ways to get your message across is to use a visualisation to quickly draw attention to the key messages, and by presenting data visually it’s also possible to uncover surprising patterns and observations that wouldn’t be apparent from looking at stats alone. As author, data journalist and information designer David McCandless said in his TED talk: "By visualising information, we turn it into a landscape that you can explore with your eyes, a sort of information map. And when you’re lost in information, an information map is kind of useful."

There are many different ways of telling a story, but everything starts with an idea. So to help you get started we’ve rounded up 20 of the most awesome data visualisation tools available on the web.