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EDSC Newsletter - February Edition
Ojaswi Dhoubhadel & Kashish Aggarwal
February 04, 2025
Table of Contents
Upcoming Events:
NOTE: Our social this week starts begins at 7:00 pm, not the usual start time of 5:30.
Come unwind and connect with fellow data enthusiasts in a relaxed setting. Share your latest projects, seek advice, or simply enjoy some good company over drinks and snacks. This is the perfect opportunity to foster new connections, exchange ideas, and strengthen our data science community.
We'll be meeting at Campio Brewing Co. (10257 105 St NW, Edmonton, AB T5J 1E3) on Nov 7, 2024 at 7 pm.
Let us know you’re coming in our meetup page
Feb 13, 2025 - EDSC Event - Jillian Kowalchuk
Mark your calendar for the evening of Feb 13, 2024 as Jillian from AMII will be joining us for our speaker event at Norquest.
Jill Kowalchuk is the Manager of AI Literacy with the Training team at Amii. Jill worked as a junior high and high school humanities teacher before coming to Amii. She has also worked as an educational consultant and educational researcher.
Jill earned a Bachelor of Education at the University of Alberta, as well as a graduate diploma in Interdisciplinary Education from the University of Calgary. She also holds a Master of Education from the University of Toronto in Social Justice Education, specializing in Critical Digital Literacy. Jill is currently working on her PhD in Curriculum and Pedagogy at the University of Alberta in the Department of Secondary Education, where her research focuses on teachers' moral agency in the age of Generative AI.
In her spare time, Jill enjoys spending time with friends and family, creating content on TikTok and travelling.
Our March social will be on March 6, 2025. We’ll create a RSVP page for this next month!
Thank you for coming to our last event
A huge shout out to Darryl, Shawn and Ryan for speaking at our last event. It was extremely engaging discussion on practical application of data science in the pipeline industry.
Also thank you to everyone who joined us for our last Edmonton Data Science Community event! We hope to see you again in our next events!
If you have any feedback for this event or in general, please send us a message through this google form
Exploring Data Careers - Data Analyst
Welcome to the first edition of our series, “Exploring Data Careers,” where we uncover the diverse roles that bring data to life. In each issue, we’ll break down what it means to work in a specific data-related profession, explore the skills required, and dive into the day-to-day responsibilities. Whether you’re new to data or looking to deepen your understanding of the field, this series is here to guide you. To kick things off, we’re starting with a foundational and ever-relevant role: the Data Analyst.
What is Data Analysis?
Before diving into what a data analyst does, it is worthwhile to take a step back and understand what data analysis is. Data analysis is the process of examining raw data to identify patterns, trends, and insights that support better decision-making. It involves steps like collecting, cleaning, organizing, and interpreting data. Data analysis can take different forms, depending on the question you’re trying to answer. Descriptive analysis tells us what happened, diagnostic analysis explains why it happened, predictive analysis forms projections about the future, and prescriptive analysis offers actionable advice on what to do next.
In practice, data analysis is used everywhere. For example, a business might analyze sales data to identify its best-selling products, or a delivery company could study route data to optimize delivery times.
Who is a Data Analyst and Their Responsibilities?
A data analyst is a professional responsible for collecting, processing, and interpreting data to provide actionable insights. Here’s what many data analysts do on a day-to-day basis:
Data Gathering: Data Analysts must gather data requirements. This can be accomplished by conducting surveys, tracking visitor characteristics on a company website, or buying datasets from data collection specialists.
Data Cleaning: Data Analysts must reformat data for consistency, removing duplicate entries and null sets, and so on. Cleaning ensures maintaining the quality of data so that your interpretations won’t be wrong or skewed.
Data Modelling: This entails creating and designing the structures of a database to identify patterns and trends and interpret their meaning.
Data Visualization: Once data analysis is complete, Data Analysts present their findings, digested and packaged in a way they can be easily grasped. This can include using data visualization software to create dashboards to help others quickly visualize data on their own.
Communication: Data analysts collaborate with business teams to ensure their analysis is relevant and actionable. They work closely with stakeholders to develop the right visualizations, deliver meaningful insights, and ensure accurate and timely data collection.
What skills do data analysts need?
To work as a data analyst, here are the basic technical skills that are needed:
Microsoft Excel - A spreadsheet tool for organizing, analyzing, and visualizing data with formulas, pivot tables, and charts.
SQL - A programming language used to query, manipulate, and manage data stored in relational databases.
Tableau - A data visualization tool that helps create interactive dashboards and charts
R or Python - Programming languages used for data cleaning, analysis, and building statistical models.
SAS - A statistical software suite for advanced analytics, data management, and predictive modelling.
Microsoft Power BI - A business intelligence tool for creating data dashboards, reports
Jupyter Notebooks - An open-source web application for running and sharing code, visualizations, and notes in a single document.
In addition to technical data analytics skills, there are a number of soft skills all data analysts should develop, including: storytelling with data, creativity, communication skills, decision making, business domain knowledge etc.
Getting Started as a Data Analyst
Starting as a data analyst may seem daunting, but with the right steps, you can build a strong foundation.
Practice with public datasets: Explore platforms like Kaggle, Google Dataset Search, and government open data portals to find free, real-world datasets. Experiment with cleaning, analyzing, and visualizing the data to simulate real-world scenarios.
Build small projects: Create projects like analyzing sales trends, tracking website traffic, or studying customer behaviour patterns.
Share your work: Use GitHub to upload your code, notebooks, and visualizations for potential employers or collaborators to see. Build a simple portfolio website using platforms like Wix, WordPress, or GitHub Pages to organize and present your projects. Include detailed descriptions of each project to highlight your thought process and results. Post your projects, dashboards, and presentations on LinkedIn to build your professional brand.
Closing Thoughts
Throughout this article, we’ve explored the role of data analysts—professionals who bridge the gap between raw data and actionable decisions. From cleaning and organizing data to presenting insights that solve real-world problems, their contributions are vital to industries ranging from business to healthcare. As you take steps to understand or pursue this career, remember that a strong foundation in tools, storytelling, and problem-solving is key.
In the next edition, we’ll build on this foundation and explore the role of data scientists, diving into how they use advanced techniques like machine learning and predictive modelling to push data analysis even further. Stay tuned!
Get involved
The Edmonton Data Science Community is looking for enthusiastic volunteers and inspiring speakers to help make our events even more engaging! Whether you’re a data science pro or just starting, there’s a place for you to share your knowledge, grow your network, and make a difference in our community. Let’s collaborate, learn, and elevate Edmonton’s data science scene together!
If you’re interested in speaking at the future event please reach out via this form!
If you’re interested in volunteering with us, please email us or just reach out in our next event!