Today, successful firms compete and win based on analytics. Modeling Techniques in Predictive Analytics brings together all the concepts, techniques, and R code you need to excel in any role involving analytics. Thomas W. Miller’s unique balanced approach combines business context and quantitative tools, appealing to managers, analysts, programmers, and students alike. Miller addresses multiple business challenges and business cases, including segmentation, brand positioning, product choice modeling, pricing research, finance, sports, text analytics, sentiment analysis, and social network analysis. He illuminates the use of cross-sectional data, time series, spatial, and even spatio-temporal data. For each problem, Miller explains why the problem matters, what data is relevant, how to explore your data once you’ve identified it, and then how to successfully model that data. You’ll learn how to model data conceptually, with words and figures; and then how to model it with realistic R programs that deliver actionable insights and knowledge. Miller walks you through model construction, explanatory variable subset selection, and validation, demonstrating best practices for improving out-of-sample predictive performance. He employs data visualization and statistical graphics in exploring data, presenting models, and evaluating performance. All example code is presented in R, today’s #1 system for applied statistics, statistical research, and predictive modeling; code is set apart from other text so it’s easy to find for those who want it (and easy to skip for those who don’t).
This uniquely accessible book will help you use predictive analytics to solve real business problems and drive real competitive advantage. If you're new to the discipline, it will give you the strong foundation you need to get accurate, actionable results. If you're already a modeler, programmer, or manager, it will help you master crucial skills you don't yet have.
Unlike most books on predictive analytics, this guide illuminates the discipline through practical case studies, realistic vignettes, and intuitive data visualizations–not complex mathematics. Thomas W. Miller, leader of Northwestern University’s pioneering program in predictive analytics, guides you through every step: defining problems, identifying data, crafting and optimizing models, writing effective R code, interpreting results, and more.
Each chapter focuses on one of today’s most important applications for predictive analytics, giving you the skills and knowledge to put models to work–and gain maximum value from them.