Browse Month

June 2017

The Big Role of a Data Analyst in the Industry

analysis of data job

In every aspect of the world today, data plays a crucial role in deeply understanding  and improving situations and conditions. Whether it’s a University’s research department or the fast food chain you drive thru, all these places use data for their businesses. Data is everywhere and its usage can simply be applied to everything. Especially now that the world is rapidly advancing, gathering of big and small data has become the center of every institution.  From learning how to handle websites to producing food products, and many more, data is essential. Hence, there is a demand for data analysts, those which administer the analysis of data. There are even AI data analytics available in the industries today.

Data Analysis

Also known as data analytics, data analysis, in general, is a process of checking, analyzing, and modelling data in order to obtain useful information that may aid in creating decisions or suggesting conclusions. Common data analysis techniques involve data mining, used for predictive purposes, business intelligence, for business information, predictive analytics, and text analytics.

Simply put, data analysis refers to obtaining raw data and transforming it into useful information to aid the beneficiaries of the information. And almost always, data is collected and interpreted to answer certain queries, test and/or disprove theories and hypotheses.

Now that we have broken down what data analysis is all about, let’s look into the actual duties and responsibilities of data analysts who are in the field.

uses of data in business

Duties of a Data Analyst

  • Conduct research.

In many institutions and industries, the data analysts, themselves, conduct the research as they, understandably, are very familiar and knowledgeable with the different approaches in studying the environment which they are working for.

  • Analyze data.

Once the research has been conducted and data has been collected, the main role of the data analysts come in place and that is to analyze the data they have on their hands. Analyzing data would mean running descriptive, qualitative, and quantitative statistical tests, tracking outliers, determining patterns, and interpreting the results.

  • Relay the results.

Not everyone speaks the data analyst’s language and so, one of the bigger challenges for data analysts is relaying the results to the rest of the team. Data analysts will have to explain what the results mean for their business.

  • Manage the data.

Finally, data analysts manage the data. They are the ones who will be able to determine how the collected data should be used for the improvement of their, let’s say, products and services. Data may be used to create strategic plans for the company, or perhaps, to make changes in their systems.

Indeed, data acquisition and analysis is very important and so, if you’re interested to know more about data and its acquisition systems, feel free to check out DAQIFI’s data systems.

Fly Fishing Tips for Beginners

So I’ve been asked to bestow some of my fly fishing “knowledge” onto Jen, a relative newcomer to this piscatorial pastime.  While a greater honor I’ve never had, I must come clean….she’s asking the wrong person.  I may write a fancy blog with a lot of bells and whistles making it look like I’m knowledgeable about something, as far as fly fishing goes…well…you’ve all seen my fishing reports. However since she asked, and asked nicely, here it goes…because I’ll never say “no” to a pretty lady.

Tip #1:  Don’t be afraid to lose flies.  Actually, it’s a good thing.  Fish, such as trout, tend to like cover of some sort.  Inside root balls, behind rocks, beneath overhanging branches, etc…are all prime places to find a fish just waiting to ambush your fly.  Unfortunately, especially as a beginner, if you’re casting to these places, you’ll likely get snagged and snarled on them too.  If you’re not losing flies, you’re missing some prime real-estate…unless of course you’re fishing directly into a hatchery pen.  In that case, you don’t even need a fly, a piece of dog food will make do just fine.

Tip #2:  (Related to #1)  In your first year or so, don’t bother attempting to tie your own flies.  Yeah, you’ll read a lot of cool blogs with pictures of beautiful flies tied by magicians of the vise.  There’s also a certain bit of satisfaction one takes from catching a fish on a fly they tied.  That noted, spend your time on the water refining your skills, not at the vise. Tying flies WILL NOT save you money in the long run, tying flies DOES NOT make you any better than the next guy (or gal), and all those children workers in China, India, & Africa need something to do now that they’re no longer allowed to make basketball shoes and soccer balls.

Tip #3:  After missing a hookset or losing a fish during the fight after going considerable time nary a nibble, shouting four-letter expletives at the top of your lungs is not only acceptable, but the sign of a true sportsman. Knowing that you have quality gear including fishing waders is imperative. Consider it the equivalent of yelling “FORE” on the golf course; a fair warning to any nearby anglers to clear out and not ask you in passing “any luck?”

Tip #4:  Always carry a little bit of toilet paper or a few baby wipes in a Ziploc bag with you in your fishing pack.  Especially when fishing “off the beaten path.”

Tip #5:  To close, here’s a few quick blogging tips.

o First, keep up the great work.  Your blog makes great use of the medium; a nice mix of words and pictures.

o Second, social media is great, but the best form of networking for a newbie is commenting on other blogger’s posts.  Don’t think Tweetbook is the be all and end all.

o Third, don’t get consumed by stats like visitors, hits, etc…  You’ll find your audience soon enough.  IMHO, a small but active following is 1,000 times more rewarding than a large but quiet one.

o Fourth, if you choose to ignore the previous tip, pictures of scantily clad fisher-women do wonders for traffic numbers.  Just thought I’d make that PERFECTLY CLEAR.

o Finally, don’t believe everything those WordPress folks say, Blogger is rad. A few of us do just fine without Plug Ins.

All that sound good?  I thought so.

if you’re up for another interesting topic to read, check out this article on solar energy.