Free Data Mining Courses Online

Data Mining 

Data Mining is a computer-aided method that allows you to explore large databases, with the aim of finding repeating patterns that explain the behavior of these data. This methodology uses concepts derived from statistics, artificial intelligence, machine learning, information technology, and mathematics to analyze data. Data mining algorithms reveal logical relationships in the form of patterns and trends. Data mining has proved to be extremely useful to identify correlations, regularities, problems and weak points and is an indispensible part of data science.

To learn more about data science, read our blog on – What is data science?

Data mining reveals comprehensive business information using advanced modeling and analysis techniques. With the help of data mining, you can make much more complex queries on your data than by using conventional query methods. The information that mining provides can dramatically improve the quality and reliability of business decision-making.

Applications of Data Mining

Commerce and banking - Customer segmentation and profitability, credit scoring, predicting payment, detecting fraudulent transactions, cash management, etc.

Medicine and Pharmacy - Diagnosis of diseases and the effectiveness of treatments.

Security and fraud detection - Facial recognition, biometric identifications, and access to unidentified networks, etc.

Non-numerical information retrieval - Text mining, web mining, image, video, voice and text search and identification from multimedia databases.

Astronomy - Identification of new stars and galaxies.

Geology, mining, agriculture and fishing - Identification of areas of use for different crops or fishing or mining in satellite image databases.

Environmental Sciences - Knowledge discovery in the fold of agriculture and environment.

Social Sciences - Study of the flows of public opinion. 

City planning - Identifying neighborhoods with conflict based on socio-demographic values, etc.

What skills do I need to excel in Data Mining?

Technical Skills 

To start a career as a data miner, you must have knowledge of –

1. Programming languages - R, Python, C++, Java, Matlab, SQL, SAS, etc.
2. Business analytics
3. Big data 
4. Operating Systems
5. Database knowledge - Relational Databases & Non-Relational Databases
6. Statistics - Probability, Correlation, Regression, Linear Algebra, etc.
7. Data Structure & Algorithms
8. Machine Learning
9. Deep Learning 
10. Natural Language Processing
11. Design and development 

Tools

1. Microsoft Excel
2. Teradata
3. MonkeyLearn 
4. R-Programming
5. BOARD
6. RapidMiner 
7. Oracle Data Mining 
8. IBM SPSS Modeler 
9. Weka 
10. Dundas
11. Knime 
12. H2O 
13. Qlik
14. Orange 
15. Inetsoft
16. Apache Mahout 
17. SAS Enterprise Miner

Learn more about data science tools in our blog

Who should take up Data Mining certification?

Career in data mining is suitable for professionals like business analysts, data scientists, statisticians, data analysts, data engineers, data architects, robotics professionals, gaming, computation and educational professionals, among others.

Read more - How to Become a Data Scientist

Eligibility & Prerequisites to Learn Data Mining

Some data mining courses require you to have a graduate or postgraduate degree in Computer Science. You should have knowledge of Data structures, Algorithms, Database systems, Linear algebra, Multivariable calculus, and Statistics.

Top Data Mining Certifications for Career Growth

1. LEARNING PATH: Statistics and Data Mining for Data Science by Udemy
2. Data Mining Project by Coursera
3. Pattern Discovery in Data Mining by Coursera
4. Business Analytics & Data Mining Modeling Using R Part II by NPTEL
5. Data Mining Algorithms in SSAS, Excel, and R by Pluralsight
6. Data Mining: Theories and Algorithms for Tackling Big Data by edX
7. Intro to Analytic Thinking, Data Science, and Data Mining by Coursera
8. Predictive Analytics and Data Mining by Coursera
9. Process Mining: Data science in Action by Coursera
10. Cluster Analysis in Data Mining by Coursera

Books to Learn Data Mining

1. Introduction to Data Mining by Tan, Steinbach & Kumar  
2. An Introduction to Statistical Learning by Gareth James & Daniela Witten
3. Data Science for Business: What you need to know about data mining and data-analytic thinking
4. Modeling with Data by Ben  Klemens
5. Big Data, Data Mining, and Machine Learning: Value Creation for Business Leaders and Practitioners by Jared Dean
6. Data Mining: Practical Machine Learning Tools and Techniques by Ian H. Witten & Eibe Frank

Data mining is now an exclusively used technique to explore data, with different techniques and technologies in huge databases to find repetitive patterns, trends or rules that explain the behavior of the data that has been collected over time. Data mining has found its way across fields like data security, finance, health, marketing, fraud detection, online searches, natural language processing, and smart cars, among others. It is for this reason that data mining is becoming one of the jobs with the greatest projection for the future.