This book is not just for data science majors but also for those who want to develop their
data literacy. It is organized in a way that provides a very easy entry for almost anyone to
become introduced to data science, but it also has enough fuel to take one from that
beginning stage to a place where they feel comfortable obtaining and processing data for
deriving important insights. In addition to providing basics of data and data processing, the
book teaches standard tools and techniques. It also examines implications of the use of data
in areas such as privacy, ethics, and fairness. Finally, as the name suggests, this text is meant
to provide a hands-on introduction to these topics. Almost everything presented in the book
is accompanied by examples and exercises that one could try – sometimes by hand and
other times using the tools taught here. In teaching these topics myself, I have found this to
be a very effective method.
This book is intended for advanced undergraduates or graduate students in information
science, computer science, business, education, psychology, sociology, and related fields
who are interested in data science. It is not meant to provide in-depth treatment of any
programming language, tool, or platform. Similarly, while the book covers topics such as
machine learning and data mining, it is not structured to give detailed theoretical instruction
on them; rather, these topics are covered in the context of applying them to solving various
data problems with hands-on exercises.
The book assumes very little to no prior exposure to programming or technology. It does,
however, expect the student to be comfortable with computational thinking (see Chapter 1)
and the basics of statistics (covered in Chapter 3). The student should also have general
computer literacy, including skills to download, install, and configure software, do file
operations, and use online resources. Each chapter lists specific requirements and expectations, many of which can be met by going over some other parts of the book (usually an earlier chapter or an appendix).