Patrick Power PRO
Economics PhD @ Boston University
Introduction
Buisness Analytics
"It’s just narratively unsatisfying"
Table of Contents
Introductions
Getting Started
For Today
Course Description
What This Course is Not About
- This is not a computer science class (we're not going to be talking about compliers!)
- This is not a finance class (we're not going to be covering options, bonds, etc)
What This Course is About
- This class is about "learning from data"
- How do we physically analyze data (load & code)
- How do we interpret statistical results
- How do we present results and uncertainty to others
Immediate Aim: Learn how to perform data analysis
Long Term Aim: How to improve a business via data analytics
Prerequisites
- We're more or less going to teach everything from scratch
Start
How to create a variable in Python
Start
How to create a variable in Python
Start
How to use language models to analyze data
End
Keys to Success
- Don't confuse inexperience with inability
- Work a consistent amount each week
- Lean into your interests
Grading
Homework (20 %)
- Weekly homework (one or two problems related to each lecture)
- Graded for completion not accuracy
Participation (5%)
- Do you enhance the learning experience for those around you
Exams: Midterm & Final (25% each)
- Open Note
- Python Based
- Not Cummulative
Final Project
- Develop a project of interest that leverages the tools and skills developed during the course of the semester
Final Project (25%)
Examples
- Conduct a market feasibility report for a eduction startup
- Develop a model that can predict the Supreme Court Rulings
- Construct a model than can predict lead paint or mold issues in NYC Housing Authority Units
Motivation
Why Business Analytics
Why Business Analytics (BA)?
Motivation
How has Generative AI impacted this class?
Andrej Karpathy
Jensen Huang
Sal Khan
"The Two Sigma Opportunity: Using AI to Provide a One-to-One Tutor for Every Student and Teaching Assistant for Every Teacher"
Generative AI has enabled two key changes
(1) We can now work at the level of text
(2) We can more easily work across varying levels of abstraction*
Levels of Abstraction
Words/Text
Computer Memory
*Throughout the semester, we'll try to highlight this
Case Studies for Data Science Jobs
During this interview I’ll go over your qualifications, discuss the role in general and the specific research projects and spend 10-15 minutes on a case study. It will be high-level; I’ll introduce a problem and have you discuss your thought process and how you would proceed to solve the question. There won’t be any on-the-spot coding.
The fundamentals
The Essence of Programming
(1) Data Storage
(2) Functions
my_list = [5, 10, 20]def f(x):
return x**2The Essence of Causal Inference
Local Variation of Treatement
The Curse of Dimensionality
The Essence of Statistics
(1) Defining some notion of similarity
(2)Averaging
print(2+3)list(map(partial(model1, results1.params.values), 180))\big(\Omega, \mathcal{F}, \mathbb{P})
Business Analytics - Introduction
By Patrick Power
