Writing data science questions

This guide briefly explores how to frame a problem by defining questions that could be answered using data.

Why are questions important?

In data science projects you are considering how data might be used to solve a problem.

To help transform data into something that will help to address the business problem and achieve the goals, you should start preparing a set of questions that will help to arrive at relevant insights.

For example, if a goal were to increase revenue in an online fashion app then questions we might be seeking to explore from the data could include:

Typical questions

Consider "Who, What, Where, When, Why and How" questions.

Some typical data science questions:

Questions in the COMP0035/COMP0034 coursework

You are not required to include questions in the coursework. Doing so could help you to think about the app your will need to do. It can be especially useful when designing data dashboards and visualisations (charts).

The questions you write should:

For example, a London air quality data set provided readings of three different pollutants, the date and time of the reading, and the location.

Further reading

How to ask questions data science can solve

The data science process - Step 1: Frame the problem

IBM Translate a business problem into an AI and data science solution

What's your problem - framing data science questions the right way

Read Minding the gap – visualising the impact of COVID-19 by Stuart Johnson

This activity can be used to gain practice in 'framing the problem' by identifying the questions to be answered from a data science project. Read the article and identify from the article: