Process Mining


Book Description

This is the second edition of Wil van der Aalst’s seminal book on process mining, which now discusses the field also in the broader context of data science and big data approaches. It includes several additions and updates, e.g. on inductive mining techniques, the notion of alignments, a considerably expanded section on software tools and a completely new chapter of process mining in the large. It is self-contained, while at the same time covering the entire process-mining spectrum from process discovery to predictive analytics. After a general introduction to data science and process mining in Part I, Part II provides the basics of business process modeling and data mining necessary to understand the remainder of the book. Next, Part III focuses on process discovery as the most important process mining task, while Part IV moves beyond discovering the control flow of processes, highlighting conformance checking, and organizational and time perspectives. Part V offers a guide to successfully applying process mining in practice, including an introduction to the widely used open-source tool ProM and several commercial products. Lastly, Part VI takes a step back, reflecting on the material presented and the key open challenges. Overall, this book provides a comprehensive overview of the state of the art in process mining. It is intended for business process analysts, business consultants, process managers, graduate students, and BPM researchers.




How Teachers Can Turn Data into Action


Book Description

From state and Common Core tests to formative and summative assessments in the classroom, teachers are awash in data. Reviewing the data can be time-consuming, and the work of translating data into real change can seem overwhelming. Tapping more than 30 years' experience as an award-winning teacher and a trainer of PLC coaches, Daniel R. Venables, author of The Practice of Authentic PLCs: A Guide to Effective Teacher Teams, soothes the trepidation of even the biggest "dataphobes" in this essential resource. Field-tested and fine-tuned with professional learning communities around the United States, the Data Action Model is a teacher-friendly, systematic process for reviewing and responding to data in cycles of two to nine weeks. This powerful tool enables you and your teacher team to * Identify critical gaps in learning and corresponding instructional gaps; * Collaborate on solutions and develop a goal-driven action plan; and * Evaluate the plan's effectiveness after implementation and determine the next course of action. With easy-to-use templates and protocols to focus and deepen data conversations, this indispensable guide delineates exactly what should be accomplished in each team meeting to translate data into practice. In the modern sea of data, this book is your life preserver!




R in Action


Book Description

R is a powerful language for statistical computing and graphics that can handle virtually any data-crunching task. It runs on all important platforms and provides thousands of useful specialized modules and utilities. This makes R a great way to get meaningful information from mountains of raw data. R in Action, Second Edition is a language tutorial focused on practical problems. Written by a research methodologist, it takes a direct and modular approach to quickly give readers the information they need to produce useful results. Focusing on realistic data analyses and a comprehensive integration of graphics, it follows the steps that real data analysts use to acquire their data, get it into shape, analyze it, and produce meaningful results that they can provide to clients. Purchase of the print book comes with an offer of a free PDF eBook from Manning. Also available is all code from the book.




Gnuplot in Action


Book Description

Summary Gnuplot in Action, Second Edition is a major revision of this popular and authoritative guide for developers, engineers, and scientists who want to learn and use gnuplot effectively. Fully updated for gnuplot version 5, the book includes four pages of color illustrations and four bonus appendixes available in the eBook. Purchase of the print book includes a free eBook in PDF, Kindle, and ePub formats from Manning Publications. About the Technology Gnuplot is an open-source graphics program that helps you analyze, interpret, and present numerical data. Available for Unix, Mac, and Windows, it is well-maintained, mature, and totally free. About the Book Gnuplot in Action, Second Edition is a major revision of this authoritative guide for developers, engineers, and scientists. The book starts with a tutorial introduction, followed by a systematic overview of gnuplot's core features and full coverage of gnuplot's advanced capabilities. Experienced readers will appreciate the discussion of gnuplot 5's features, including new plot types, improved text and color handling, and support for interactive, web-based display formats. The book concludes with chapters on graphical effects and general techniques for understanding data with graphs. It includes four pages of color illustrations. 3D graphics, false-color plots, heatmaps, and multivariate visualizations are covered in chapter-length appendixes available in the eBook. What's Inside Creating different types of graphs in detail Animations, scripting, batch operations Extensive discussion of terminals Updated to cover gnuplot version 5 About the Reader No prior experience with gnuplot is required. This book concentrates on practical applications of gnuplot relevant to users of all levels. About the Author Philipp K. Janert, PhD, is a programmer and scientist. He is the author of several books on data analysis and applied math and has been a gnuplot power user and developer for over 20 years. Table of Contents PART 1 GETTING STARTED Prelude: understanding data with gnuplot Tutorial: essential gnuplot The heart of the matter: the plot command PART 2 CREATING GRAPHS Managing data sets and files Practical matters: strings, loops, and history A catalog of styles Decorations: labels, arrows, and explanations All about axes PART 3 MASTERING TECHNICALITIES Color, style, and appearance Terminals and output formats Automation, scripting, and animation Beyond the defaults: workflow and styles PART 4 UNDERSTANDING DATA Basic techniques of graphical analysis Topics in graphical analysis Coda: understanding data with graphs




Data Feminism


Book Description

A new way of thinking about data science and data ethics that is informed by the ideas of intersectional feminism. Today, data science is a form of power. It has been used to expose injustice, improve health outcomes, and topple governments. But it has also been used to discriminate, police, and surveil. This potential for good, on the one hand, and harm, on the other, makes it essential to ask: Data science by whom? Data science for whom? Data science with whose interests in mind? The narratives around big data and data science are overwhelmingly white, male, and techno-heroic. In Data Feminism, Catherine D'Ignazio and Lauren Klein present a new way of thinking about data science and data ethics—one that is informed by intersectional feminist thought. Illustrating data feminism in action, D'Ignazio and Klein show how challenges to the male/female binary can help challenge other hierarchical (and empirically wrong) classification systems. They explain how, for example, an understanding of emotion can expand our ideas about effective data visualization, and how the concept of invisible labor can expose the significant human efforts required by our automated systems. And they show why the data never, ever “speak for themselves.” Data Feminism offers strategies for data scientists seeking to learn how feminism can help them work toward justice, and for feminists who want to focus their efforts on the growing field of data science. But Data Feminism is about much more than gender. It is about power, about who has it and who doesn't, and about how those differentials of power can be challenged and changed.




Datastory


Book Description

Readers will learn to understand the story behind the data and how to influence the people with a DataStory.




Queer Data


Book Description

Data has never mattered more. Our lives are increasingly shaped by it and how it is defined, collected and used. But who counts in the collection, analysis and application of data? This important book is the first to look at queer data – defined as data relating to gender, sex, sexual orientation and trans identity/history. The author shows us how current data practices reflect an incomplete account of LGBTQ lives and helps us understand how data biases are used to delegitimise the everyday experiences of queer people. Guyan demonstrates why it is important to understand, collect and analyse queer data, the benefits and challenges involved in doing so, and how we might better use queer data in our work. Arming us with the tools for action, this book shows how greater knowledge about queer identities is instrumental in informing decisions about resource allocation, changes to legislation, access to services, representation and visibility.




R in Action, Third Edition


Book Description

R is the most powerful tool you can use for statistical analysis. This definitive guide smooths R’s steep learning curve with practical solutions and real-world applications for commercial environments. In R in Action, Third Edition you will learn how to: Set up and install R and RStudio Clean, manage, and analyze data with R Use the ggplot2 package for graphs and visualizations Solve data management problems using R functions Fit and interpret regression models Test hypotheses and estimate confidence Simplify complex multivariate data with principal components and exploratory factor analysis Make predictions using time series forecasting Create dynamic reports and stunning visualizations Techniques for debugging programs and creating packages R in Action, Third Edition makes learning R quick and easy. That’s why thousands of data scientists have chosen this guide to help them master the powerful language. Far from being a dry academic tome, every example you’ll encounter in this book is relevant to scientific and business developers, and helps you solve common data challenges. R expert Rob Kabacoff takes you on a crash course in statistics, from dealing with messy and incomplete data to creating stunning visualizations. This revised and expanded third edition contains fresh coverage of the new tidyverse approach to data analysis and R’s state-of-the-art graphing capabilities with the ggplot2 package. About the technology Used daily by data scientists, researchers, and quants of all types, R is the gold standard for statistical data analysis. This free and open source language includes packages for everything from advanced data visualization to deep learning. Instantly comfortable for mathematically minded users, R easily handles practical problems without forcing you to think like a software engineer. About the book R in Action, Third Edition teaches you how to do statistical analysis and data visualization using R and its popular tidyverse packages. In it, you’ll investigate real-world data challenges, including forecasting, data mining, and dynamic report writing. This revised third edition adds new coverage for graphing with ggplot2, along with examples for machine learning topics like clustering, classification, and time series analysis. What's inside Clean, manage, and analyze data Use the ggplot2 package for graphs and visualizations Techniques for debugging programs and creating packages A complete learning resource for R and tidyverse About the reader Requires basic math and statistics. No prior experience with R needed. About the author Dr. Robert I Kabacoff is a professor of quantitative analytics at Wesleyan University and a seasoned data scientist with more than 20 years of experience. Table of Contents PART 1 GETTING STARTED 1 Introduction to R 2 Creating a dataset 3 Basic data management 4 Getting started with graphs 5 Advanced data management PART 2 BASIC METHODS 6 Basic graphs 7 Basic statistics PART 3 INTERMEDIATE METHODS 8 Regression 9 Analysis of variance 10 Power analysis 11 Intermediate graphs 12 Resampling statistics and bootstrapping PART 4 ADVANCED METHODS 13 Generalized linear models 14 Principal components and factor analysis 15 Time series 16 Cluster analysis 17 Classification 18 Advanced methods for missing data PART 5 EXPANDING YOUR SKILLS 19 Advanced graphs 20 Advanced programming 21 Creating dynamic reports 22 Creating a package




Doing Action Research


Book Description

′The clear intention of the authors is to motivate, persuade and give confidence to those who might otherwise think that research can only be carried out by teams of university staff′ - ESCalate Most Teaching Assistants (TAs) studying for Foundation Degrees need to do Action Research projects. This book acts as an introduction to research methods, and will be especially useful if you are doing such work for the first time. It: " introduces the basic principles and practice of research methods; " provides an overview of the processes involved in Action Research; " shows you how to identify an issue, design and carry out a course of action and evaluate the impact of this action; " uses real case studies from practising TAs. The content of the book relates to both Early Years and Primary settings, and there are case studies from a variety of settings. Anyone studying for a Foundation Degree, or working towards HLTA status, will find this book meets their needs. Claire Taylor is Programme Leader for the Foundation Degree at Bishop Grosseteste College, Lincoln. Min Wilkie is Programme Leader for the Foundation Degree in Educational Studies for Teaching Assistants at the University of Leicester. Judith Baser has worked in a wide range of educational settings, including 5 years as a teaching assistant. More recently, she has run training courses for teaching assistants in ways to support children′s learning and development.




Effective Data Storytelling


Book Description

Master the art and science of data storytelling—with frameworks and techniques to help you craft compelling stories with data. The ability to effectively communicate with data is no longer a luxury in today’s economy; it is a necessity. Transforming data into visual communication is only one part of the picture. It is equally important to engage your audience with a narrative—to tell a story with the numbers. Effective Data Storytelling will teach you the essential skills necessary to communicate your insights through persuasive and memorable data stories. Narratives are more powerful than raw statistics, more enduring than pretty charts. When done correctly, data stories can influence decisions and drive change. Most other books focus only on data visualization while neglecting the powerful narrative and psychological aspects of telling stories with data. Author Brent Dykes shows you how to take the three central elements of data storytelling—data, narrative, and visuals—and combine them for maximum effectiveness. Taking a comprehensive look at all the elements of data storytelling, this unique book will enable you to: Transform your insights and data visualizations into appealing, impactful data stories Learn the fundamental elements of a data story and key audience drivers Understand the differences between how the brain processes facts and narrative Structure your findings as a data narrative, using a four-step storyboarding process Incorporate the seven essential principles of better visual storytelling into your work Avoid common data storytelling mistakes by learning from historical and modern examples Effective Data Storytelling: How to Drive Change with Data, Narrative and Visuals is a must-have resource for anyone who communicates regularly with data, including business professionals, analysts, marketers, salespeople, financial managers, and educators.