Category: Data Science
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You Ask, I Answer: Causation Without Correlation?
Vito asks, “Let’s assume we have the joint probability distributions of A and B. In that scenario, is it possible that A causes B, but A and B are not correlated?” This is possible and even probable when you have missing data, especially if the missing data is also partially causal. Some examples: – Distributions…
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You Ask, I Answer: Getting Started With Data-Driven SWOT Analysis?
Talesa asks, “How do you chip away at the progression of creating a data driven swot analysis on a small team that doesn’t already possess all the key skills?” In regard to a SWOT analysis using data, the place to start is to identify what data you do have, and whether it’s of any use…
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You Ask, I Answer: Statistical Significance in A/B Testing?
Wanda asks, “How do I know if my A/B test is statistically significant?” Statistical significance requires understanding two important things: first, is there a difference that’s meaningful (as opposed to random noise) in your results, and second, is your result set large enough? Watch the video for a short walkthrough. Can’t see anything? Watch it…
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You Ask, I Answer: Data Visualization Courses?
Dasha asks, “I want to take some classes on analytics and visualization skills – what would you recommend?” I’d start by learning the principles of data visualization first. Edward Tufte’s book, The Visualization of Quantitative Information, is the classic textbook to start with. Then look at Data Studio’s introductory course, followed by Microsoft’s free EdX…
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You Ask, I Answer: Detecting Bias in Third Party Datasets?
Jim asks, “Are there any resources that evaluate marketing platforms on the basis of how much racial and gender bias is inherent in digital ad platforms?” Not that I know of, mostly because in order to make that determination, you’d need access to the underlying data. What you can do is validate whether your particular…
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You Ask, I Answer: Best Tools for Cleaning Data?
Jessica asks, “What are the best tools for cleaning data?” That’s a fairly broad question. It’s heavily dependent on what the data is, but I can tell you one tool that will always be key to data cleansing no matter what data set. It’s the neural network between your ears. Can’t see anything? Watch it…
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You Ask, I Answer: Company-Level Amazon Ecommerce Datasets?
Steve asks, “I’m looking for a dataset of companies that are actively selling on Amazon. How would you as a marketing data scientist approach this problem?” That’s an interesting question. To my knowledge, there aren’t publicly available, free datasets of this sort (though please leave a link in the comments if you know one), so…
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You Ask, I Answer: Data Scientist Interview Questions?
Jessica asks, “what should be the interview questions when hiring a good data scientist?” The answer to this question depends heavily on how fluent you are in the language of data science, in order to sniff out unqualified candidates. Focus a lot on scenarios, and work with a non-competitive data scientist to build out questions…
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You Ask, I Answer: Scientific Method for Marketing Data Science?
Jessica asks, “What is most common scientific method to analyze data, so when I (business person) is working with marketing data scientists I can have a intelligent conversation?” To my knowledge, there is only one scientific method. What matters for marketing data science (and data science in general) is the implementation – particularly at the…
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You Ask, I Answer: Tools or Concepts in Marketing Data Science?
Jessica asks, “Which should we focus on learning most in marketing data science, concepts or tools?” Without a doubt, concepts. You learn frying, not a specific model of frying pan. You learn painting, not a particular paint brush. You learn to play any piano, not just one kind of piano. Can’t see anything? Watch it…
