University of California Course Emphasizes Exploratory Data Analysis and Data Provenance
A University of California course, 'Data 100: Principles and Techniques of Data Science,' is focusing on Exploratory Data Analysis (EDA) as the initial step in working with datasets. The curriculum highlights the importance of understanding data provenance, which refers to the origin and context of data. Students learn that data is an imperfect representation of the real world and that context and inspection are crucial. The course uses tabular data, often in CSV format, and introduces tools like Polars for data manipulation and Seaborn for visualization. A key example involves analyzing UC Berkeley admissions data from California public high schools, specifically focusing on application, admission, and attendance rates. The course also addresses challenges such as missing data, data quality issues, and the need to be 'scrappy' in acquiring and utilizing available information, even if imperfect.
