Week 6 assignment 1: explore data mining with baseball statistics

This project is designed to help you begin thinking about the power of data mining, and how organization might benefit from discovering information that’s contained in their “Big Data” – that is, large quantities of information in various places and in various forms.

1. Download the latest database file of comprehensive baseball statistics from the website SeanLahman.com http://www.seanlahman.com/baseball-archive/statistics/). You may choose which version to download, depending upon your software proficiency and familiarity. There is a Microsoft Access compatible data set, and a comma-separated-value (CSV) file set that can be opened easily in Microsoft Excel or any other spreadsheet software. The Access version has all the data in one large file, while the CSV/Excel version is a long series of individual files contained in a .zip file for downloading.
2. Review the structure of the tables included in the database.
3. Devise three different data-mining experiments you would like to try to find answers to questions that a baseball fan, a coach, a team owner, or an investor might have, and explain which fields in which tables would have to be analyzed.
4. Write a summary describing the questions you would like to answer, and what approach to answering those questions with these data might be effective and why.

Length: 2-3 pages not including title page and references

Your analysis should demonstrate thoughtful consideration of the ideas and concepts presented in the course and provide new thoughts and insights relating directly to this topic. Your response should reflect scholarly writing and current APA standards.