In many occasions we have heard about Data Mining but, what is it exactly and when do we have to use it?. Well, I am going to start with some basis definitions I have collected from different sources and authors and I have made a nice combination (from my point of view) that I will share in this post.
- What is it?
Data Mining is an extraction activity and its objective is discovering facts which are in the data base. In the same way it enables you to deduce hidden knowledge by examining or training the data. The knowledge founded is expressed in patterns and rules.
- When do we have to use it or when is it useful?
- Systems partially unknown
- Huge number of data
- Powerful hardware and software
Data mining is very useful in many fields such as: Marketing, government, medicine, sales and production. Data mining algorithms are part important in this process, a key to data mining success is selecting an algorithm that is appropriate for your specific task.
In the figure below I show general information of how each algorithms work, its characteristics and the specifics cases when we use it in a particular case.