Exploring the Intricacies of Data Analytics

Definition of Data Analytics

Data analytics is a broad term used to refer to the process of examining, cleansing, transforming, and modeling data sets to discover useful information and support decision-making. This complex discipline encompasses a variety of techniques and theories drawn from many fields within the broad context of mathematics, statistics, computer science, and information science (Suthaharan, 2016).

Data analytics techniques are generally divided into four types: descriptive analytics, diagnostic analytics, predictive analytics, and prescriptive analytics. Descriptive analytics involves analyzing historical data to identify patterns and trends; this is often used in business intelligence. Diagnostic analytics seeks to identify the causes of a particular outcome.