Database, dataset, datacenter, data-driven and the list goes on. You've heard some of these words when it comes to data? Or in Portuguese, data set?
Nowadays, collecting, analyzing, manipulating, storing and sending data has become a daily task in companies all over the world. Data, and insights obtained from it, are the foundation of management decisions, especially those aimed at business growth.
For this reason, data science has been one of the areas of technology that has developed the most in recent decades. One of the tools that has been updated the most is the dataset.
In this article, we'll explain what a datasethow it works and how to use it in your artificial intelligence projects. Have a good read!
What is a Dataset?
A dataset is a collection of data on the same subject, which is essential for feeding and training artificial intelligence models.
The data is organized in tables, with rows and columns - CSV, TXT, XML or XLS documents - from external sources. In other words, it's data that has been collected by other entities and organized in such a way that you can use it to teach Artificial Intelligence algorithms.
Think of the following analogy: You go to a bookstore and ask for a romance book to feed your AI with examples of this genre. The clerk shows you a shelf with several volumes, organized alphabetically. They are all on that theme, arranged logically and have not been ordered by you.
Is there a difference between Dataset and Database?
In simple terms, the dataset is the shelf with the novel books, but the database is the bookstore. With several shelves, books of different subjects and different sizes, the database is a more comprehensive set of data than the dataset.
This scope, now talking about data, can include more complex information and presentations other than tables, rows and columns.
A good example of database is Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software.
Within a CRM, you can find information such as:
- Name;
- Age;
- Address;
- Socio-economic class;
- Shopping;
- Interactions with support;
- Returns;
- Cancellations;
- Buyback.
To name but a few.
Which Datasets are Available for Use?
Datasets have two sources, private and public.
O dataset obtained from a private source may have been extracted from a company's software, such as CRM and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), or from sources such as social networks. The aim with this data tends to be to solve internal company issues.
Meanwhile, the public Most of the public datasets come from government entities and others come from companies that allow their data to be used for research purposes. We'll mention five that you may be familiar with.
Brazilian Open Data Portal
According to the Brazilian Open Data Portalon the platform it is possible to find data published by the federal government and local governments in order to carry out research, develop applications and create new services.
In this dataset of the Brazilian government, there are more than twelve thousand datasets from 249 organizations, including banks, ministries and federal universities. There is also data from the Census and other entities, such as the INSS, which provide information on the Brazilian population.
Central Bank of Brazil
The Central Bank of Brazil has datasets available for use by scientists and students who need financial and banking information for their projects.
In the list you can find a dataset by format - HTML, JSON, API, CSV, PDF and others - and by content. Among the subjects of the documents, we can highlight those on banking operations, indebtedness and data that complies with transparency measures.
Google Analytics
Yes, Google Analytics is a dataset! Google's platform is a way of evaluating the performance of a website, including the number of users who accessed the page, what type of device they used and how long they were active.
Google Analytics has some advantages, such as dataset. The first is that data is updated over time, so more in-depth analysis is possible. The second advantage is the visualization of data in customized graphs and tables.
Google Dataset Search
Once again Google appears on the list! O Google Dataset Search is a search tool similar to Google Images and Google Scholar, but it has a particular function. In this case, it is to help data scientists, researchers and students in their search for a dataset.
With more than 20 million results available, users can search for datasets by subject, see the hosting and rate the person who published the data.
O Reddit is perhaps the most famous online forum in the world. Among the many topics on the forums, the dataset is among the 1% most relevant on the social network. With over 146,000 members, discussions about datasets deserve special mention.
In the forum, you can post your questions and receive help from other users. One of the advantages is finding datasets on more specific subjects, for example data on health conditions, application use or history and geography.
How can I use a Dataset?
O dataset can be the key to the solution a company is looking for. The information obtained from processing the data in a dataset can help to understand which markets are best for selling a product, how consumers behave after a purchase and what the chances are that they will buy again.
With these insights in hand, managers can make certain decisions that would be a hit-or-miss game without the data. So the use of datasets is absolutely essential for a company's growth strategy.
Another point worth highlighting is the use of a dataset to train an AI. Through the process of machine learning, a dataset will help in the development of chatbotsmodels capable of making predictions or carrying out tasks for a user.
Conclusion
That's it!
You now have the essential information about what a datasethow they work, where they can be found and used.
The field of data science, especially when applied to AI, is one of the fastest growing in today's market, so it's important to know a little about it.
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