Data Science Analytics

Introduction to Data Science

Learn the full data science workflow from raw data to practical insights, with a focus on tools, thinking, and real-world application.

Introduction to Data Science logo
Quick Course Facts
18
Self-paced, Online, Lessons
18
Videos and/or Narrated Presentations
6.0
Approximate Hours of Course Media
About the Introduction to Data Science Course

Introduction to Data Science is a practical course that helps you understand how data becomes insight, from the first question to the final story. Whether you are new to analytics or want a stronger foundation, this course gives you the skills to think clearly, work methodically, and apply Data Science in real-world settings.

Build Your Data Science Foundation With Practical Skills

  • Learn the full data science workflow from raw data to practical insights, with a focus on tools, thinking, and real-world application.
  • Understand the core concepts behind Data Science, including statistics, data types, and problem framing.
  • Practice essential data preparation skills such as cleaning, wrangling, and handling missing values and outliers.
  • Explore visualization, machine learning, and communication techniques that help you turn analysis into action.

An Introduction to Data Science that connects foundational knowledge with hands-on analytical thinking.

This course starts by explaining what Data Science is, why it matters, and how the modern workflow moves from raw data to meaningful outcomes. You will learn how to frame questions, form hypotheses, and identify the right data sources so your analysis begins with a clear purpose.

From there, the course covers statistics for Data Science, descriptive analysis, and summary measures that help you understand what the data is saying. You will then move into data cleaning, quality checks, missing values, outliers, and feature preparation, building the habits needed to work with messy, real-world datasets confidently.

You will also develop stronger exploratory analysis skills through visualization, pattern detection, and correlation analysis, before being introduced to machine learning, regression, classification, and model evaluation. The course closes with data storytelling and responsible data use, so you can communicate insights clearly while considering ethics and privacy. By the end of this Introduction to Data Science course, you will think like a data professional, work more confidently with data, and be prepared to apply Data Science methods in practical situations.

Course Lessons

Full lesson breakdown

Lessons are organized by topic area and each includes descriptive copy for search visibility and student clarity.

Foundations

2 lessons

This lesson defines data science as a practical discipline for turning data into decisions, products, and measurable outcomes. It explains how data science differs from related fields such as statisti…

Lesson 2: The Data Science Workflow

20 min
This lesson introduces the data science workflow as a practical, repeatable process for turning raw data into useful decisions. Students learn the major stages of the workflow, why they matter, and ho…

Data Basics

1 lesson

Lesson 3: Types of Data and Data Sources

18 min
This lesson explains the main types of data you will encounter in data science and where that data comes from. You will learn how to distinguish structured, semi-structured, and unstructured data, and…

Data Thinking

1 lesson

Lesson 4: Questions, Hypotheses, and Problem Framing

18 min
This lesson shows how data science starts with a clear question , not a tool. Learners will define a problem, turn vague ideas into testable hypotheses, and choose a framing that matches the decision …

Core Concepts

2 lessons

Lesson 5: Statistics for Data Science

22 min
This lesson introduces the statistical ideas that make data science possible: how to describe data, how to compare groups, and how to judge whether a pattern is likely real or just noise. You will lea…

Lesson 6: Descriptive Analysis and Summary Measures

18 min
This lesson explains how to describe a dataset using summary measures rather than raw rows. You will learn when to use counts, proportions, percentages, means, medians, modes, range, variance, and sta…

Data Preparation

3 lessons

Lesson 7: Data Cleaning and Quality Checks

22 min
In this lesson, you will learn how data cleaning turns raw, messy information into something reliable enough for analysis. We will focus on the most common quality problems: missing values, duplicates…

Lesson 8: Working with Missing Values and Outliers

20 min
This lesson shows how to identify, interpret, and handle missing values and outliers during data preparation. You will learn why these issues matter, how they can affect analysis and models, and how t…

Lesson 9: Data Wrangling and Feature Preparation

22 min
Data wrangling is the step where raw, messy data becomes something you can actually trust and use. In this lesson, Professor John Ingram shows how to inspect data, fix common quality issues, handle mi…

Exploration

3 lessons

Lesson 10: Data Visualization Fundamentals

20 min
In this lesson, you will learn the foundations of data visualization as a tool for exploration, not just presentation. You will see how charts help you spot patterns, compare categories, detect outlie…

Lesson 11: Exploratory Data Analysis

22 min
Exploratory Data Analysis (EDA) is the phase where you get to know your dataset before modeling or drawing conclusions. In this lesson, you will learn how to inspect structure, summarize key variables…

Lesson 12: Correlation, Patterns, and Relationships

18 min
This lesson introduces correlation as a way to describe how two variables move together and how patterns in data can reveal useful relationships. You will learn the difference between positive, negati…

Modeling

4 lessons

Lesson 13: Introduction to Machine Learning

20 min
This lesson introduces machine learning as a practical modeling approach in data science: using data to learn patterns that support prediction, classification, and decision-making. You will learn the …

Lesson 14: Supervised Learning: Regression and Classification

24 min
This lesson introduces supervised learning , the most common starting point for predictive modeling in data science. You will learn how a model uses labeled examples to make predictions, why regressio…

Lesson 15: Model Evaluation and Common Metrics

22 min
This lesson explains how to judge whether a model is actually useful, not just technically complete. You will learn why model evaluation matters, how to split data for testing, and how to interpret co…

Lesson 16: Overfitting, Bias, and Model Selection

20 min
This lesson explains three ideas that shape every practical model-building decision: overfitting , when a model learns noise instead of signal; bias , when a model is too simple to capture important p…

Communication

1 lesson

Lesson 17: Communicating Insights with Data Stories

18 min
This lesson explains how to turn analysis into a clear data story that people can understand and act on. You will learn how to frame a message around a decision, choose the right level of detail for y…

Practice

1 lesson

Lesson 18: Ethics, Privacy, and Responsible Data Use

18 min
This practice lesson focuses on how to apply ethical thinking to real data science work: protecting privacy, reducing harm, respecting consent, and communicating results responsibly. You will practice…
About Your Instructor
Professor John Ingram

Professor John Ingram

Professor John Ingram guides this AI-built Virversity course with a clear, practical teaching style.