COMP326Data Science Foundations

Module 3 · 3 units · 27 tutorials · Weeks 6–7

Exploratory Data Analysis

Describing data, visualising it well and discovering patterns worth pursuing. The descriptive and visual foundations of every analysis you will ever do.

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Module overview

What this module covers

Module 3 teaches the core skills of exploratory data analysis: describing a variable's distribution, comparing groups, examining relationships between variables, and visualising all of it honestly.

The module pairs statistical description with visual communication. Every concept is introduced numerically and then shown in an appropriate chart, so you learn to choose the right representation for the question being asked.

Vaccine against misleading charts

By the end of this module you will recognise truncated axes, misleading colour scales and cherry-picked bins — and know how to avoid them.

At a glance

Units
3 (U07–U09)
Tutorials
27
Weeks
6–7
Assessment
3 unit quizzes · Assignment 2 due Week 9 · Assignment 3 released Week 9
Key tools
pandas, Matplotlib, Seaborn

Learning outcomes

By the end of Module 3 you will be able to

Describe

  • Compute and interpret measures of centre and spread.
  • Use percentiles and quartiles appropriately.
  • Characterise distribution shape and skew.

Visualise

  • Select the chart type appropriate to the question and data type.
  • Build effective bar, line, scatter, histogram, box and heatmap charts.
  • Assemble a coherent dashboard.

Explore

  • Conduct univariate and bivariate analysis.
  • Interpret correlation responsibly.
  • Discover patterns and articulate what they do and do not imply.

Units

Three units in this module

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