The Data Scientist as Detective

Catalog description

This seminar is about how data are used to figure things out. We will consider cases in which a standing mystery existed, a question without an answer that was subsequently solved with a crisp, clever, or comprehensive analysis of data. We will pay close attention to the reasoning used involved in getting answers from data, and together we will consider how to assess how confident to be in those answers. All of which is directed to providing a better understanding of the logic of making inferences from data, evaluating those inferences, and actually working with data. Over the quarter, students will also be asked to pose and advance a project of their own that involves answering a question with data.