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Every day we are bombarded with headlines and texts in which certain data, percentages and averages are mentioned or presented in charts, and based on which conclusions are drawn related to what is good for us, what is normal or how we should behave and think. At the same time, if we take some time to look for the source of the mentioned data or apply a critical approach to the mentioned conclusions, we can see that often everything is not as it is presented on websites, social media networks, newspaper articles or television. However, in the midst of all the misinformation, half-truths and sensationally presented content, it is increasingly difficult to distinguish misinformation and half-truth from credible data. For this reason, we need better tools for getting by in the modern world. With the course Be Data Drivenwe tried to offer solutions and theoretical explanations, examples and tools that represent a guide to the world of data analysis and data driven reasoning. 

The course is intended for high school students, higher education students, and anyone who wants to learn how to analyse data and use it to draw relevant conclusions. Since we know that images speak louder than words, with this course the participants will also be able to learn how to present their data analysis results visually. Finally, to spice things up even more, all the analyses are done in the Python programming language, so anyone who takes this course will have the opportunity to learn some basic data processing techniques with the help of programming tools, as well as how to interpret data using statistical methods, the understanding of which is very important when dealing with data analysis. The team of authors consisting of Aleksandra Alorić and Dejan Pajić made an effort to make the thematic units and examples in the Be Data Driven course familiar and appealing to readers, while at the same time written so that everyone can understand them, regardless of the level of prior knowledge.

Since there is hardly an area in today’s society in which data are not used, we have chosen four areas where everyone can find something interesting – sport, ecology, art and public health. Publicly available data sets were used, and the authors’ desire and the goal of the course is to motivate each individual to learn how to find answers to questions through data analysis, regardless of whether it is about everyday problems, work or issues that concern the entire community. 

You can go through the course lesson by lesson or, if you are particularly interested in one of the areas, go to it directly, and then address potential doubts by looking at the other lessons. Holydays are coming and so is a little downtime, therefore we recommend that you take advantage of this course and acquire practical skills and knowledge that you will hopefully use for analysing data that are important to you, but were not included in this course.

The Be Data Driven project is recognized and supported within the social responsibility programme “The World You Want” of the company A1 Serbia, implemented in cooperation with the regional organization Propulsion. In addition to our project, this programme also supports initiatives in the fields of ecology and public health.