What is data science?
Quick answer
Data science is the practice of turning raw data into decisions, through cleaning, analysis, visualisation and a clear account of what the numbers do and do not support.
Students analyse data they collected themselves and present findings with stated limitations.
In context
Most of the work is cleaning and framing, not modelling, and students benefit from learning that early.
A good data project ends with a claim, its evidence and its limits, which is excellent training for any subject.
In a NASCA classroom
Students analyse data they collected themselves and present findings with stated limitations.
Related terms
Machine learning
Machine learning is the part of AI where a model improves at a task by being shown labelled examples, rather than by being programmed with explicit rules.
Internet of Things
The Internet of Things is a network of everyday devices fitted with sensors and connectivity, so they can report data and be controlled remotely.
Computational thinking
Computational thinking is a problem-solving approach built on four moves: break a problem down, spot the patterns, ignore what does not matter, and write a repeatable procedure.