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Learner Reviews & Feedback for What is Data Science? by IBM

4.7
stars
67,936 ratings

About the Course

Do you want to know why data science has been labeled the sexiest profession of the 21st century? After taking this course, you will be able to answer this question, understand what data science is and what data scientists do, and learn about career paths in the field. The art of uncovering insights and trends in data has been around since ancient times. The ancient Egyptians used census data to increase efficiency in tax collection and accurately predicted the Nile River's flooding every year. Since then, people have continued to use data to derive insights and predict outcomes. Recently, they have carved out a unique and distinct field for the work they do. This field is data science. In today's world, we use Data Science to find patterns in data and make meaningful, data-driven conclusions and predictions. This course is for everyone and teaches concepts like how data scientists use machine learning and deep learning and how companies apply data science in business. You will meet several data scientists, who will share their insights and experiences in data science. By taking this introductory course, you will begin your journey into this thriving field....

Top reviews

SB

Sep 9, 2019

Very learning experience, I am a beginner in DS, but the instructors in this course simplified the contents that made me I could easily understand, tools and materials were very helpful to start with.

MS

Sep 17, 2020

very useful. i liked and enjoyed the journey of learning in these five weeks. the instructor is very clear and taught very interestingly. Thanks to her. she looked poised and cheerful and professional

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9901 - 9925 of 10,000 Reviews for What is Data Science?

By rodrigo t l

•

Mar 10, 2022

I found some information useful, and the sequence of modues is interesting. However I would invert the way the modules explain what is data science. I would place people giving their opinion in readings(instead of videos) and examples of applications of data science in readings in videos (which are much more interesting and kind of situate students on what data science is). The quiz is interesting, but I really didn´t like the question about the name of Google CFO. I think the overall target of this quiz have passed remembering names for tests a long time ago.

By Ron K

•

May 4, 2020

There were a few spots where the information in the labs did not match up with the actual site; I assume that they updated since the course was made. It was not hard to figure out. Additionally there were a number of videos that had problems with the transcription below. There were many that were about 3 lines ahead of the video and there were at least two that were for an entirely different video. I assume the videos were updated recently but the transcript was overlooked or something similar. Other than those minor troubles, I enjoyed the course.

By Kevin B

•

Oct 19, 2022

Warning for those whose native language is NOT English:

These IBM Data Science courses are in DESPERATE need of review by a native English speaker. If English wasn't my first language, I can only imagine how much I would have struggled. To be fair, this particular course didn't contain anywhere near as many grammar, syntax, and audio transcription errors as some of the other courses in IBM's Data Science collection, but it is still pretty unbelievable that they expect us to pay money for courses that haven't been properly reviewed and proof-read.

By Abdulwasiu B

•

Jun 7, 2020

Impressive contents and materials.

experienced facilitators from impressive backgrounds in data science and analytics.

I like the intermittent review questions, helps in maintaining focus.

Thank you for the introduction and access to the IBM Watson VR service, I love the hands on exercise, took some pictures from around the house and tested the VR, Impressive, and still growing. However, I feel IBM Watson VR can still improve in some areas of systemic biases, may be due to cultural gaps...

I will recommend this course for anyone interested.

By Michael S

•

Aug 11, 2020

I took this course as the first in the IBM Data Science certificate sequence. The content was good, but the certificate is billed as being for people new to data science and in much of this course the speakers suggest you should have a background in statistics and should have some programming experience to be a data scientist.

From what I can gather, I think the other courses in the certificate will prepare people even without those things in their background, but it did give me some concern about whether I'm mistaken about that.

By Britney M

•

Aug 11, 2022

Videos were thorough and concise, however I did not like that the transcript did not reflect everythign the speaker was saying in some parts and then in other parts had more articles (a, uh, the). To me this seems like a fix that can be completed during review. Additionally, it felt as though the rubric for the final assignment had more emphasis on specific words being added in a response than the concept or idea being realized throughout a students answer. Thanky you for your time and appreciate the introduction course.

By Harisai M

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May 14, 2023

The content is good but some of the topics are not explained but there were questions in the quiz like data mining. I found that most of the quizzes are testing memory instead of concepts. They are questions in quizzes related to the years when the article is published and all. There were some questions that literally shocked me like the answers should be "output" but has another option like "results", even though both are synonyms we should stick to the word that was mentioned in class, this is a complete memory test.

By Roopesh J

•

Aug 16, 2022

So far the experience has been worth every penny. The quality of content disseminated by lecturers, videos is awesome. There are instances where we a real person to guide us would make the process even more smooth and faster, viz., logging into IBM web, installing watson assisstant to name a few.

And i would really like to come in contact with a real mentor, a data scientist who is an industry professional who can give an inspirational insight to boost morale and motivate us, he/she can be a convenor of the program.

By ola o

•

Dec 19, 2022

This Data Science Course hassupported my confidence building as a Business Analyst. I was able to take actionable knowledge from the level of data, collated by different individuals and works of life. I see Programing as a underused , new avenues are opning and generating new growth for Research and Development in the health, marketing and research sectors. Learning pace is encouraging and easy to follow. Being exposed to likely earnings' of a Data Analyst is also a game Changer for me.

Than you.

Olatunji O

By Matthew S

•

Aug 23, 2023

Having absolutely no background in a tech field, I feel like this course gave an excellent description of what Data science is like.

There are some cons which I will list:

--> The quizzes mid video seemed pointless. The graded quizzes were even more so.

--> A lot of the videos made it seem that a prior knowledge of math and statistics were necessary, which may deter those hoping to make a career shift to tech.

--> The final assessment is peer reviewed. This can go either way depending on who your peer is.

By Derek E

•

Nov 11, 2018

Overall the course was enjoyable and provided good information from relevant sources familiar with the course topic.

I'm sure you here this a lot, but the peer-reviewed grading assignment is not a good approach and would recommend that this feature be removed. I know Coursera has good intentions with this and they are trying to promote positive interaction engage learners to communicate with one another, but individuals taking these courses are not interested in the forum's for the most part.

By Laurie H

•

Apr 18, 2022

This was a good introduction to Data Science, and what a data scientist should expect to do. It also included a good description of what type of background might be required along with educational requirements for someone looking to get into Data Science. The only reason I didn't give it 5 stars is they tried to sell it a little too hard. I'm already taking the course and have demonstrated my interest. I don't need to be sold on why being a Data Scientist might be something great to be.

By Jason G

•

May 3, 2020

Self paced and easy without being boring. Interesting material. I felt the peer reviewed assignments and quiz portions promoted rote memorization vice actual understanding. All the ones i grades were clearly copy paste form the reading, yet by the grading rubric, they all scored perfect. The section requiring an account creation and use of the Watson AI application was a waste of time, and its rather annoying to have to create yet another account among the hundreds of others everyone has.

By Jessica W

•

Oct 22, 2020

The course is a very fast and high-level look at data science. I enjoyed it quite a bit and would recommend it to anyone who is nervous about exploring data science. The only reason it didn't get 5 stars is that it could use some updating. Some of the screens on assignments don't match the Watson platform, and Watson no longer allows you to use the free version to do the assignment requested. Had that been working, it would have been 5 stars for sure. Really worth taking.

By Diego T B

•

Jul 6, 2020

The course was a great introduction to the world of Data Science. I whitnk it would be nice if, regarding the technical aspects of data science, you could include more tools or bibliographical references to train one-self in statistics, math and/or computational skills. Also, when it comes to definitions, there was some repetitive content along the course.

I am really grateful for having had the opportunity to learn about this passionate field. Thank you so much!

By Abigail J

•

Aug 14, 2019

The course was rudimentary and not as technical as I was expecting, but did give a really good introduction to what data science actually is and what data scientists do. The articles were more helpful than the videos (though the videos were still worthwhile) and for me the most directly useful part of the course was learning how data scientists structure their reports and deliverables at the end of a project. Definitely worth your time if you're new to the field.

By Jon J J

•

Sep 4, 2023

This course is a great introductory course on the subject of Data Science as it shows the breadth of definitions and responsibilities of a data scientist. However, the quizzes and exam questions seem to give too much importance to insignificant facts such as arbitrary dates and adjectives used to define Data Science. The exam questions should be revised to focus more on important points of the concepts that you want students to take away from the course.

By Nadia B

•

Apr 23, 2022

The course provided good foundation in explaining importance of data science, it's tools and skills and use, I felt it was rather content light, it spent a lot of time on justifying why, rather than how - I was hoping that in a 3 hour course, the techniques an skills would have been covered more in depth. I like the fact non-scientific skills such as curiosity, storry telling and enthusiasm were stressed and given equal importance as the technical ones.

By Ann-Katrin M

•

Apr 23, 2021

I very much enjoyed the course and got a good overview of data science, I think. The combination of video, quiz, and reading was nice and allowed me to stay engaged. The only criticism is the varying quality of the provided literature (not the content, just the display - looked different every time and was difficult to read due to lack of quality) and room for improvement of the answer fields for the assignment. The layout had some issues.

By Rafaella M

•

Apr 23, 2022

The course is very well structured and the topics organized. All the explanation is straightfoward which makes a complicated subject seem easy. The only downside is that some questions made throughout the course were not very practical and sometimes focused on small details that are unimportant, such as "which Magazine said data science is the sexiest job?" instead of "Why data science is the sexiest job according to Magazine XYZ?".

By Zobiya A

•

Dec 19, 2023

It is a basic introduction to Data Science, being the first course in 10 10-course specialization series, this one was fairly easy. The Quizzes are entertaining and easy to medium but not too difficult. It forces us to be analytical and someone who observes and reads between the lines. You can easily pass this course if you have real curiosity, I was unsure but they sure made me enthusiastic to pursue this specialization further.

By Sabrina Z

•

Feb 18, 2023

A really useful and broad introduction to the data science world! I really enjoyed the organization of the course, as well as the speakers. The only reason because of I am not giving 5 stars is the reading section. Although all provided articles are useful, sometimes they contain some technical jargon not explained in the lessons (because it is an introductory course). Overall, an essential introduction to the specialization.

By Walter R

•

Jul 30, 2019

Very very detailed which is something I like. Only reason I didn't give it a full five stars is because the last quizzes in course 1 of this specialization were locked over a weekend. I'm guessing many factors in this decision were at play but I definitely am excited with what Coursera offers and was without Coursera for a sunny weekend. I'm hoping the rest of the courses in this specialization don't have any locked portions.

By Dave C

•

Mar 13, 2019

The content formed a great introduction to the subject but I felt that the quiz-format and peer-reviewed task could have been a little more challenging. I feel that the ease of the questions devalues the course somewhat. The questions should require understanding of the topic rather than purely 'copy from the text' style answers. But, I want to re-iterate that the content and quality of the information provided was excellent.

By Ananth V

•

Mar 8, 2019

Generally good content. This is good for beginners with little or no background to Data Science. Some topics were a bit mixed up with each other; but all put together the content was good for a beginner's course.

It may be good to add some videos / content from real life corporate stories. Right now, with most of the videos being of academicians, the application of data science in corporate / business scenarios is not emerging