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Data and Statistics

An overview of topics related to data and statistics.

Welcome to the Data and Statistics Guide!

This library guide provides you with an overview on how to get started working with data. The contents of this guide have been organised into several tabs to provide you with access to key areas.

For more information on how to do research, visit the Applied Research for Students tutorial.
data science areas

Data Literacy is a critical skill in today's world. It refers to the ability to read, understand, and apply critical thinking to data, thus enabling you to work with and communicate with data as information, and ultimately, help with making data-driven (or data-informed) decisions.

Data Science is the discipline that specializes in the theories and applications of data collection, processing and analysis. It uses scientific methods and theories from mathematics, statistics, computer science and information science to seek answers to data-driven questions.

Statistics is focused on the mathematical use of data and therefore primarily concerned with the analysis of quantitative (numeric) data.

The Data Life Cycle applies to all types of data. From https://datascience.berkeley.edu/about/what-is-data-science/

⇒ What you study matters
Data analysis follows the same principles across different subject areas but what may differ are the methods in which the data is collected, analysed and presented, data management policies, and the software tools that you use. Disciplines that commonly work with data are: Business, Computer Science, Health Sciences, Journalism, and Marketing.

Find subject-specific data sources that the library offers under the section "Data Sources".

Become More Data Literate

Seneca's Top Library Online Resources for Learning About Data and Statistics

For more learning resources on data and statistical literacy check out our data-related resources list.

Citation and Academic Integrity Tools

Use the How to Cite Data page for information on how to cite different types of data.

APA Manual (cover image)APA Citation Guide

Use the Seneca Libraries APA Citation Guide to support integration of sources in your academic work. The Citation Guide will help you avoid plagiarism, create in-text citations, and citations for your References page.

MLA Citation Guide

Use the Seneca Libraries MLA Citation Guide to support integration of sources in your academic work. The Citation Guide will help you avoid plagiarism, create in-text citations, and citations for your Works Cited page.

Destination Academic Integrity (cover image)Destination Academic Integrity

Complete this interactive module to discover the supports and services that will help you understand and practice academic integrity at Seneca.

Recommendation for Library Purchase

Is there a book, video, newspaper, or other resource that you think the library should have? Fill out this form to make a recommendation for library purchase!

Creative Commons License This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.