Introduction to Data Analysis sets a foundation for those interested in pursuing more advanced topics in data analysis.

Becoming a data analyst requires proficiency in several areas:

• Data wrangling
• Programming
• Statistical methods
• Machine learning
• Data visualization

There is truly a vast amount of open data available to anyone who knows where to find it, but data is often found in a form that does not lend itself to analysis.

Data wrangling is the use of tools and techniques to transform unstructured data into structured data from which descriptive, predictive, and prescriptive analytics can be derived. Business leaders depend on high-quality, real-time analytics to make informed business decisions. This "business intelligence" enables a company to differentiate itself from its competition, but high-quality, real-time analytics is the end game. One has to walk before they can run. Data analysts often point out that roughly 70% of their work involves data wrangling.

This course sets you on a successful path in data analysis by building a solid foundation. A course will follow that introduces learners to machine learning via Microsoft Azure Machine Learning Studio.

Recommended preparation: Algebra and basic statistics. No programming experience is required - the necessary R programming will be learned in the context of working with data sets.

Databases, organized repositories of information, have become indispensable in today's world. In this introductory course you will learn about relational databases and the basics of Structured Query Language (SQL) including sorting; grouping result sets; using DDL, DML, DCL, and TCL. All SQL statements will initially be written for one table. Most practical, modern and relational databases will include a large number of tables and SQL queries have to access information from several tables. This course will introduce you to querying more than one table. With this skill you will be able to query two or more tables in a database.

This is a hands-on course which will take you from installing SQL Server 2016 to learning the ins and outs of SQL Server Management Studio and of course a full dose of SQL. The course covers most of the requirements to take Microsoft's certification (98-364), the Microsoft Technology Associate. During each meeting, you will be assessed for your knowledge, competency and proficiency in SQL.

Structured Query Language (SQL) is the standard for Relational Database systems. A person with these skills can provide insights for enterprises with this skill. 

Build your foundation with this first course by learning the basics of SQL language. In this course, you will review the various methods for communicating with databases, read and write SQL commands, and learn the different ways to use SQL and its functionalities for data manipulation. This course will cover the two major components of SQL: Data Definition Language (DDL) to support the definition of database structure and establish control over access to data, and Data Manipulation Language (DML) to support retrieving and updates of data. 

This is a good course for beginners wanting to understand basic concepts of SQL languages. It can also be a starting point for people interested in data science, database management, solution architecture, or application development interfacing with datasets or databases. 

Recommended prep: Previous experience with programming, basic understanding of database functionality, ability to install a MySQL database