The Data Analyst View

In your classes and work experiences, you may be hearing a term called, "Computational Thinking". This approach to problem solving is becoming more common in research as well as the industry, so we want to also introduce you to it. In general it is a way of looking at problems such that we think about how to solve them through the use of technology. Just as fundamentals of grammar and math lay the foundation to how we approach problem solving, computational thinking encourages use of technology tools we can utilize.  Watch the short 6-minute YouTube video by College & Career Ready Labs called "Computational Thinking: What Is It? How Is It Used?" that further explains this idea of computational thinking.

In the context of Sarah's experiment, the experimental data was captured with a device, which used sensors and data loggers. Then to analyze these datasets we are using computing resources to help her determine what CSR measurements are the most useful in predicting high yields in her wheat plants.

We will now summarize the experiment from a data analyst perspective. Listen to this next presentation called "Data Analyst's Perspective on the Experiment" by Ashu Guru, your guide through the computer programming and statistical aspects of the project. Take note of his Computational Thinking approach throughout the course.

Once again, let’s stop for a moment to make sure you clearly understand what it is Ashu was explaining. When you are working on these types of large projects do not hesitate to ask your collaborators questions or to confirm with them that you are accurately following what they are trying to convey. This will help your project to run much more effectively.

Quiz

Question

As we have learned. the sensor measures reflectance for 2048 discrete wavelengths. In the experiment here are 660 total plots, out of which 330 field plots are water stressed and 330 field plots are water non-stressed. In addition, each of the 330-field plots has growing different wheat varieties.

Question: Select if the following explanation is true or false

A typical data file obtained from the sensors log will most likely contain data regarding the reflectance measure for each wavelength in a particular plot at the time of measurement.

Looks Good! Correct: Explanation: The sensor is measuring the measure of reflectance for all 2048 wavelengths when it captures/logs a reading