Human-Centered Data Science: An Introduction

by Cecilia Aragon, Shion Guha, Marina Kogan

Best practices for addressing the bias and inequality that may result from the automated collection, analysis, and distribution of large datasets.

Human-centered data science is a new interdisciplinary field that draws from human-computer interaction, social science, statistics, and computational techniques. This book, written by founders of the field, introduces best practices for addressing the bias and inequality that may result from the automated collection, analysis, and distribution of very large datasets. It offers a brief and accessible overview of many common statistical and algorithmic data science techniques, explains human-centered approaches to data science problems, and presents practical guidelines and real-world case studies to help readers apply these methods.

The authors explain how data scientists’ choices are involved at every stage of the data science workflow—and show how a human-centered approach can enhance each one, by making the process more transparent, asking questions, and considering the social context of the data. They describe how tools from social science might be incorporated into data science practices, discuss different types of collaboration, and consider data storytelling through visualization. The book shows that data science practitioners can build rigorous and ethical algorithms and design projects that use cutting-edge computational tools and address social concerns.

Genres: Nonfiction, Science

200 pages, Paperback

Published March 1, 2022

About the author

Cecilia Aragon is an award-winning author, airshow pilot, and the first Latina full professor in the College of Engineering at the University of Washington in Seattle.

Winner of the 2021 Nancy Pearl Award, her memoir, FLYING FREE: My Victory over Fear to Become the First Latina Pilot on the US Aerobatic Team (Blackstone Publishing), has been described as "exhilarating, adventurous, and thoughtful." FLYING FREE lifts readers into the skies on a woman's epic journey from fearful, bullied child to champion pilot.

Her 2019 book, WRITERS IN THE SECRET GARDEN: Fanfiction, Youth, and New Forms of Mentoring (MIT Press), co-authored with Katie Davis, explores the surprising ways young people learn from each other in online fanfiction communities.

Visit Cecilia's website at http://CeciliaAragonAuthor.com
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Follow her on Twitter https://twitter.com/CeciliaRAragon or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/CeciliaArago...

Reviews

[Ayae · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is the great introduction to step into the world of human-centerd data science. While it covers high-level overview of both quantitative and qualitative research from each process of data science cycle to common techniques and tools (machine learning, statistical analysis and others), this book adresses ethical research design by clarifying data science problems and the multiple types of collaborations in human-centered data science projects.

[Mwa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Data science and artificial intelligence have become ubiquitous in our lives today, but it can be hard to understand exactly what's going on behind the surface of the algorithms. This book presents an easy-to-read yet accurate introduction to this important subject, along with explanations of the many ways humans touch data and impact software. Chapter 4 is worth the price of the book alone, if you're interested in an intuitive overview of key data science approaches. The case studies provide thoughtful and entertaining stories from practitioners in the field. An important book for beginning and advanced data scientists alike. Highly recommended!