6.1. Introduction

This chapter will explore the concept of analyzing data sets to summarize their main characteristics and information. We will start by exploring the dataset in more depth and use Pandas and Altair to explore and visualize the data in different formats, such as histograms and maps. As we go further in the chapter, you will realize that we do not have access to every data set in the form that we might wish. Often we need to find other means to obtain the data we need or to reformat the data in some way. We will learn how to extract data from websites using web scraping methods. Finally, you will be able to use the Pandas pivot table to summarize the data.

6.1.1. Learning Goals

• Visualize, analyze, and describe data in various formats

• Extract data from different sources

• Summarizes the data of a large data set

6.1.2. Learning Objectives

• Use Pandas to analyze and describe data

• Visualize data with histograms and scatter plots

• Graph data on a map using web API

• Extract, clean, and save data from web documents

6.1.3. Reading List

• One Dataset Visualized 25 Different Ways: This is a great article to help you think about visualization.

• What is Exploratory Data Analysis

• Getting Started with Altair: Read the overview and then move to the User Guide. Read this up to and including the section on data transformations.

• A Comprehensive Guide to the Grammar of Graphics

• Introduction to Pandas Part I

• Screen Scraping 101

• Web Scraping Weather Forecasts

• Beautiful Soup Docs

In this first part of the module, we will continue with some data that should be familiar to you, but we will use it in Pandas instead of a spreadsheet. In the second part, we will focus on several different kinds of textual analysis using data. Download The world countries, protecting minority investors, and starting a business to get started. We will be working with these files in this chapter. Keep in mind that this starting a business is different than the one used in chapter 2.

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