Head First Data Analysis--New from O'Reilly

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For Immediate Release

CONTACT:
Kathryn Barrett
(707) 827-7314
kathrynb@oreilly.com

Head First Data Analysis--New from O'Reilly
A Learner's Guide to Big Numbers, Statistics, and Good Decisions

Sebastopol, CA--There's a whole world of data out there, and it's your job to make sense of it all.
Where to begin? Head First Data Analysis (O'Reilly Media, $49.99 USD) helps you organize your data
in Excel or Open Office, take it further with R, find meaningful patterns with scatterplots and
histograms, draw conclusions using heuristics, predict the future by experimenting and testing
hypotheses, and display findings with clear visualizations.

Author Michael Milton has spent most of his career helping nonprofit organizations improve their
fundraising by interpreting and acting on the data they collect from their donors. Milton says,
"Nowadays, everyone has to deal with mounds of data, whether they call themselves 'data analysts'
or not. But people who possess a toolbox of data analysis skills have a massive edge on everyone
else, because they understand what to do with all that stuff."

Whether you're a product developer researching the market viability of a new product or service, a
marketing manager gauging or predicting the effectiveness of a campaign, a salesperson who needs
data to support product presentations, or a lone entrepreneur responsible for all of these
data-intensive functions and more, the unique approach in Head First Data Analysis is by far the
most efficient way to learn what you need to know to convert raw data into a vital business tool.

With the help of this book, you'll learn how to:

- Determine which data sources to use for collecting information
- Assess data quality and distinguish signal from noise
- Build basic data models to illuminate patterns, and assimilate new information into the models
- Cope with ambiguous information
- Design experiments to test hypotheses and draw conclusions
- Use segmentation to organize your data within discrete market groups
- Visualize data distributions to reveal new relationships and persuade others
- Predict the future with sampling and probability models
- Clean your data to make it useful
- Communicate the results of your analysis to your audience

Using the latest research in cognitive science and learning theory to craft a multi-sensory
learning experience, Head First Data Analysis uses a visually rich format designed for the way your
brain works, not a text-heavy approach that puts you to sleep.

Advance Praise:
"It's about time a straightforward and comprehensive guide to analyzing data was written that makes
learning the concepts simple and fun. Concepts are good in theory and even better in
practicality."
--Anthony Rose, President, Support Analysis

"'Head First Data Analysis' shows how to find and unlock the power of data in everyday life and how
systematic data analysis can improve decision making."
--Eric Heilman, Statistics teacher, Georgetown Preparatory School

"Buried under mountains of data? Fill your toolbox with the analytical skills that give you an edge
and turn raw numbers into real knowledge."
--Bill Mietelski, Software engineer

For a review copy or more information please email kathrynb@oreilly.com. Please include your
delivery address and contact information.

Michael Milton is a Head First fanatic. Until recently, he spent most of time looking at databases
to help nonprofit organizations figure out how to make more money. He has a degree in philosophy
from New College of Florida and one in religious ethics from Yale University.

Additional Resources:
For more information about the book, including table of contents, index, author bios, and cover
graphic, see: http://post.oreilly.com/rd/9z1z3sfllhogmdoqpa4nqd9fk3oe70...

Head First Data Analysis
http://post.oreilly.com/rd/9z1z7d3ltnt6e3mn6h1pb9jcdigrp8...
Michael Milton
ISBN 10: 9780596153939, 484 pages
$49.99 USD
order@oreilly.com
1-800-998-9938
1-707-827-7000

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