acm-header
Sign In

Communications of the ACM

Contributed articles

Data Science and Prediction


Data Science and Prediction, illustration

Credit: Barry Downard

Use of the term "data science" is increasingly common, as is "big data." But what does it mean? Is there something unique about it? What skills do "data scientists" need to be productive in a world deluged by data? What are the implications for scientific inquiry? Here, I address these questions from the perspective of predictive modeling.

Back to Top

Key Insights

ins01.gif

The term "science" implies knowledge gained through systematic study. In one definition, it is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions.11 Data science might therefore imply a focus involving data and, by extension, statistics, or the systematic study of the organization, properties, and analysis of data and its role in inference, including our confidence in the inference. Why then do we need a new term like data science when we have had statistics for centuries? The fact that we now have huge amounts of data should not in and of itself justify the need for a new term.


Comments


Ben Shneiderman

A strong and interesting article on data science, but how is it possible that information visualization is never mentioned? The focus on enabling "the system to understand" undermines the value of this thoughtful analysis, when the author could easily have emphasized human control, insight, and responsibility, even for high-speed trading and other so-called "autonomous systems".


David Levine

I believe this article confounds information with knowledge. The progression should be from data -> information -> knowledge. Both man and machine can have all 3, but it's important to distinguish between these different words when discussing these topics.


Displaying all 2 comments

Log in to Read the Full Article

Sign In

Sign in using your ACM Web Account username and password to access premium content if you are an ACM member, Communications subscriber or Digital Library subscriber.

Need Access?

Please select one of the options below for access to premium content and features.

Create a Web Account

If you are already an ACM member, Communications subscriber, or Digital Library subscriber, please set up a web account to access premium content on this site.

Join the ACM

Become a member to take full advantage of ACM's outstanding computing information resources, networking opportunities, and other benefits.
  

Subscribe to Communications of the ACM Magazine

Get full access to 50+ years of CACM content and receive the print version of the magazine monthly.

Purchase the Article

Non-members can purchase this article or a copy of the magazine in which it appears.
Sign In for Full Access
» Forgot Password? » Create an ACM Web Account