Sources of data

For users in the area of data science and business analytics, one important issue is the source of data, or simply where to get data. When working at a company, the obvious source of data is one's own company, such as sales, cost of raw materials, the salary of managers and other employees, the related information of suppliers and clients, estimations of future sales, the cost of raw materials, and so on. It is a good idea to find some data for learning purposes, and this is especially true for full-time students.

Generally speaking, there are two types of data: public and private. Private or proprietary databases are quite expensive. A typical example is the Center for Research in Security Prices (CRSP) database, a financial database generated and maintained by the University of Chicago. This database has daily, weekly, monthly, and annual trading data for all stocks listed on stock exchanges in the US from 1926 onward.

The second type of data is public or free data. For users in various data science or business analytics programs, this type of data is more than enough. For example, the UCI offers many useful datasets for machine learning that can be used for testing and learning purposes. This offers great benefits to new learners in the area of data science. Later in the chapter, several lists of free data will be offered for learners in data science, economics, and finance and accounting.