Introducing Big Data

Name: Introducing Big Data
Author: Beth Baligrosky

Learn about big data and how to apply it to your work.

Preview the first lesson free — get full access to all 6 lessons.

Course: On-Demand

(lighthearted music) Let's discuss what big data is and how to use it. In these lessons, we'll talk about how big data can be applied in data analysis, how it relates to company financials, and the benefits and challenges of using big data. You'll also learn about the role of big data in financial ethics. To put it simply, big data is just large amounts of data assets. The National Institute of Standards and Technology define big data as consisting of extensive data sets, primarily in the characteristics of volume, velocity, and/or variability that require a scalable architecture for efficient storage, manipulation, and analysis. So what does that all really mean? In today's world, we get data from a variety of sources: social media, cell phones, meters, including water, electric, and traffic lights, sales data, and telehealth sites. We can extract information from anything that can store or compile large amounts of data. Let's take a deeper look into each one of the three V's of big data: volume, velocity, and variety. Volume. There's an unlimited amount of data available, but storing all this data isn't really the issue. The biggest challenge with volume is how to decipher your data into usable sets. Velocity. There are billions of Google searches daily. So the challenge for data analysts is how to find ways to collect, process, and utilize these vast amounts of data. Variety. It comes as no surprise that data comes in various forms, but most data is defined as either structured or unstructured. Structured data is easy to enter, store, and analyze. Examples would be forms, websites, and other applications that either have fields for the user to fill in or that use dropdown menus. Unstructured data is not easy to store or analyze. Examples would be emails, posts on social media, and photos. In recent studies, users of big data have included a few more V's. Veracity is the accuracy of the data collected. Value indicates how to use the data once it's collected. And variability means that data is prone to changing. This makes data collection hard to predict and even analyze.

Intermediate Provider : Beth Baligrosky 6 Lessons · 15m in Arabic, German, English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Chinese

Course Description

These lessons define big data and then explore how to apply it to your work. They explore how big data can be used to gauge company financials and introduce the benefits and challenges of using big data to analyze your financial resources. Finally, they cover the implications of financial ethics as they relate to big data.

What You'll Learn

Define big data and the "3 Vs" of volume, velocity, and variety
Apply big data and data analysis techniques to your work
Define different types of data modeling
Apply business intelligence to company financials and your data analysis
Evaluate the benefits and challenges of using big data for finance
Examine the implications of financial ethics as they relate to big data

Key Takeaways

Big data is characterized by the "3 Vs": volume, velocity, and variety.
Big data can be applied to gauge company financials and analyze financial resources.
Using big data to analyze financial resources brings both benefits and challenges.
Business intelligence can be applied to data analysis and company financials.
Big data carries implications for financial ethics.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does this course cover?

The course defines big data and explores how to apply it to your work, including using big data to gauge company financials, the benefits and challenges of analyzing financial resources, and the implications of financial ethics as they relate to big data.

What is the "3 Vs" of big data taught in this course?

The course teaches the "3 Vs" of big data: volume, velocity, and variety.

What skills will I gain from this course?

The course develops skills in Data Analysis and Ethical Theory.

What lessons are included in this course?

Lessons include What is Big Data?, Big Data and Data Analysis, Business Intelligence and Company Financials, Benefits and Challenges for Finance, Big Data and Financial Ethics, and a Test Your Knowledge assessment.

What will I be able to do after completing this course?

You will be able to understand the "3 Vs" of big data, define different types of data modeling, and apply business intelligence to your data analysis.