You will often hear people involved in data and analytics described as “data scientists”. But if you meet one, it’s unlikely he or she will be wearing a lab coat. And their office is likely to contain simply a single computer, rather than benches of apparatus and instrumentation.

1. What Really Is Data Science?
A Super-Simple
Explanation For Anyone

2. © 2019 Bernard Marr, Bernard Marr & Co. All rights reserved
Title
Text
IntroductionIntroduction
You will often hear people involved in data and analytics described as “data
scientists”. But if you meet one, it’s unlikely he or she will be wearing a lab
coat. And their office is likely to contain simply a single computer, rather than
benches of apparatus and instrumentation. So are they really scientists? Or is it
just a “buzz word” job title designed to make them look more intellectually
worthy than they are?
What Really Is Data Science?
A Super-Simple Explanation For Anyone

3. © 2019 Bernard Marr, Bernard Marr & Co. All rights reserved
What Really Is Data Science?
Well, a “science” is a field of study in which it is possible to draw conclusions and advance
knowledge through a process of theorising, experimenting and analysing results. If you’ve
been involved with business analytical projects you’ll recognise that’s generally how they
work, too. Therefore, a person collecting and analysing data and using it to increase their
knowledge, is a data scientist.
It is a fairly new term – recorded as first being used in 1960 but not coming into
widespread use until the 1990s. Before then, the work and study which is now carried out
by what we would call a “data scientist” was simply thought of as a branch of statistics,
and its practitioners were statisticians.
However during that same time period, another field of academic study rose quickly in
popularity and prominence. And students of this other new science – computer science –
found that the technologies and techniques they were developing could be merged very
effectively with those being developed by statisticians.

4. © 2019 Bernard Marr, Bernard Marr & Co. All rights reserved
What Really Is Data Science?
This led to a huge increase in the amount of data that can be generated, stored and
analysed, as well as the speed of that analysis, and therefore the rate at which knowledge
could be generated from data. And the crux of the matter of data science is the extraction
of insights from data.

5. © 2019 Bernard Marr, Bernard Marr & Co. All rights reserved
The Role of a Data Scientist
Of course, simplifying matters to that extent, means that anyone simply turning any data
into insights is engaged in data science – for example, reading a text book. And, to be
honest, they are!
But to really qualify as a scientist, as I mentioned above, you should be putting the
information through a rigid and formalised, scientific process, involving identifying a
problem that needs solving, theorising how it could be solved, and experimenting using
your data to attempt to find a solution. You should also record your results in a
standardised way and present them for review and verification to others with knowledge
in the field.
This closely reflects the processes carried out every day by professionals with the job title
of “data scientist”. In business, the problems will be dictated by commercial goals, and the
experimentation will take the form of model-building and simulation. The goal will be to
create results that fit the goals, and are also repeatable because we understand exactly
how they came to be. Just like a real scientist!

6. © 2019 Bernard Marr, Bernard Marr & Co. All rights reserved
Scientific Disciplines Within Data Science
Generally speaking, data science represents the convergence of three previously separate
(though closely related) scientific disciplines – statistics, mathematics and computer
science.
So, in some ways it’s a patchwork of existing bodies of knowledge and methodologies. But
the process of putting them together gives rise to possibilities beyond those offered by
any one individual area.
Some still argue that data science is still just an extension of the study of statistics,
boosted by better computing power and increased storage, and to be fair, they do have a
good point. But as with everything today it’s largely a matter of branding, and “data
scientist” certainly sounds sexier in my opinion than “statistician”. Universities and colleges
are jumping on the band wagon, increasingly offering courses at undergraduate and post-
graduate level titled “Data Science”.

7. © 2019 Bernard Marr, Bernard Marr & Co. All rights reserved
Further Resources
So, there’s my overview of what exactly is meant by the term “data science”, why I feel it
deserves the title of “science” (and why its practitioners deserve to be called “scientists”)
and why it is so fundamentally important to this new 4th industrial revolution.
For more information, check out these articles:
• The 9 Best Free Online Big Data And Data Science Courses
• The 6 Key Data Science Skills Every Business Needs Today
• The 6 Best Data Science Master's Degree Courses In The US
• Forget Data Scientists And Hire A Data Translator Instead?

8. © 2017 Bernard Marr , Bernard Marr & Co. All rights reserved
© 2018 Bernard Marr, Bernard Marr & Co. All rights reserved
Bernard Marr is an internationally best-selling author, popular keynote speaker, futurist, and a
strategic business & technology advisor to governments and companies. He helps
organisations improve their business performance, use data more intelligently, and
understand the implications of new technologies such as artificial intelligence, big data,
blockchains, and the Internet of Things.
LinkedIn has ranked Bernard as one of the world’s top 5 business influencers. He is a frequent
contributor to the World Economic Forum and writes a regular column for Forbes. Every day
Bernard actively engages his 1.5 million social media followers and shares content that
reaches millions of readers.
Visit The
Website
© 2017 Bernard Marr , Bernard Marr & Co. All rights reserved
© 2019 Bernard Marr, Bernard Marr & Co. All rights reserved
Bernard Marr is an internationally best-selling author, popular keynote speaker, futurist, and a
strategic business & technology advisor to governments and companies. He helps
organisations improve their business performance, use data more intelligently, and
understand the implications of new technologies such as artificial intelligence, big data,
blockchains, and the Internet of Things.
LinkedIn has ranked Bernard as one of the world’s top 5 business influencers. He is a frequent
contributor to the World Economic Forum and writes a regular column for Forbes. Every day
Bernard actively engages his 1.5 million social media followers and shares content that
reaches millions of readers.
Visit The
Website

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