As Big Data takes center stage for business operations, data mining becomes something that salespeople, marketers, and C-level executives need to know how to do and do well. Generally, data mining is the process of finding patterns and correlations in large data sets to predict outcomes. There are a variety of techniques to use for data mining, but at its core are statistics, artificial intelligence, and machine learning. Companies and organizations are using data mining to get the insights they need about pricing, promotions, social media, campaigns, customer experience, and a plethora of other business practices.
To help you get a better handle on data mining, we have searched for resources from Big Data and data mining experts, top marketers and data scientists, leading Big Data and data analysis software solutions providers, and other data mining thought leaders, to compile our list of the top online learning resources for data mining. Below, you will find everything from articles and journals to tutorials and techniques for data mining.
While we have listed our top data mining resources in no particular order, we have included a table of contents to make it easier for you to jump to the resources categories that are of most interest to you.
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1. Data Mining Techniques in CRM to Improve Data Quality Management
@B2Community
Business 2 Community contributors cover news and trends in social media, digital marketing, content marketing, social selling, and more. Liran Malul’s Business 2 Community data mining article explains that one of the best approaches to data mining is to first identify the problem you have and how you would like to solve it, and then determine the best data mining technique to gain the insights you need. Malul then highlights the various important data mining techniques that are in CRM solutions.
Three key ideas we like from Data Mining Techniques in CRM to Improve Data Quality Management:
Cost: FREE
2. How New York’s Fire Department Uses Data Mining
@lizzadwoskin
@WSJ
Elizabeth Dwoskin, Wall Street Journal reporter covering privacy, innovation, and algorithms in Big Data, reminds us in this data mining article that data mining is not just for corporations. The New York City Fire Department is using data mining to predict which buildings will erupt in fire, and their data analysts have been working since July 2014 to determine which buildings to inspect.
Three key ideas we like from How New York’s Fire Department Uses Data Mining:
Cost: FREE
3. 10 Ways Data Mining Can Help You Get a Competitive Edge
@Kissmetrics
KISSmetrics helps organizations optimize their digital marketing, so they know a thing or two about data mining. In a recent blog post, VP of Marketing at KISSmetrics Neil Patel explores the top 10 ways to use data mining and become more competitive. As he explains, data mining helps companies to deliver more value to customers and generate more revenue in return.
Three key ideas we like from 10 Ways Data Mining Can Help You Get a Competitive Edge:
Cost: FREE
4. How Data Mining Can Boost Your Revenue by 300%
@CNNMoney
As part of CNN Money’s Small Business Resource Guide, Cindy Waxer shares anecdotes about small businesses using data mining to crunch customer data and increase sales while reducing customer turnover. Waxer explains that large corporations can afford expensive servers and data scientists, but small businesses can take advantage of web-based, cost-effective data mining alternatives.
Three key ideas we like from How Data Mining Can Boost Your Revenue by 300%:
Cost: FREE
5. Customers to Retailers: Don’t Stalk My Twitter!
@nicolefallon90
@BNDarticles
Business News Daily Assistant Editor Nicole Fallon explores the fine line customers walk between wanting companies to gather their data and not wanting companies to analyze their digital data. Marketers and companies need to balance “being helpful and being invasive by only collecting social data from customers who follow them, and avoid anything that appears to be part of a conversation among other users.” Erring on the side of caution is important when mining customer data because the last thing companies want to do is drive customers away when gathering the very data they want to use in order to keep them.
Three key facts we like from Customers to Retailers: Don’t Stalk My Twitter!:
Cost: FREE
6. The Power of Babble: Using Text Analytics and Data Mining to Uncover Actionable Customer Insights
@MRAmrx
The Marketing Research Association is a nonprofit that represents the survey, opinion, and marketing research profession. In this data mining article for the Marketing Research Association, Eric Wright, VP of solutions consulting at Allegiance, Inc., explores how to use text analytics and data mining to gain actionable customer insights. He also recognizes the fact that there is so much data and information available that it can be difficult to find the most valuable information in the middle of the unstructured content.
Three key ideas we like from The Power of Babble: Using Text Analytics and Data Mining to Uncover Actionable Customer Insights:
Cost: FREE
7. Data Mining
Dr. V. Kumar is the executive director of the Center for Excellence in Brand & Customer Management and the director of the Ph.D. program in marketing at the J. Mack Robinson College of Business at Georgia State University. His course material on data mining is a treasure trove of everything data mining and covers such topics as data mining and business value and the date mining process.
Three key ideas we like from Data Mining:
Cost: FREE
MIT OpenCourseWare offers free lecture notes, exams, and videos from MIT, without any registration process. The Data Mining Course, instructed by Professor Nitin Patel, is a graduate course featuring selected lecture notes, exams, and assignments.
Key course content:
Cost: FREE
9. Data Mining Course
@kdnuggets
Dr. Gregory Piatetsky-Shapriro is president of KDnuggets and an analytics, Big Data, data mining, and data science expert. He and Professor Gary Parker of Connecticut College offer the teaching modules for a one-semester introductory course on Data Mining. This data mining course is intended for advanced undergraduate students or first-year graduate students.
Key course content:
Cost: FREE
10. Free Online Data Mining Courses
@RDataMining
RDataMining.com is a leading resource for R and data mining, offering examples, documents, tutorials, resources, and training on data mining and analytics with R. RDataMining.com also offers a list of free online data mining courses, covering data analysis, a data mining specialization, social network analysis, and more.
Three key data mining courses:
Cost: FREE
11. STATS202 – Data Mining and Analysis
@StanfordCPD
Stanford CPD delivers Stanford courses, certificates, and degrees for qualified professionals online, at Stanford, and at work. The STATS202 – Data Mining and Analysis course is a data mining course instructed by Lester Mackey, assistant professor of statistics and Rajan Patel, instructor. The course will help students to learn how to apply data mining principles and dissect complex data sets, including those in large databases or through web mining.
Key course topics:
Cost: Contact for tuition and fee pricing
12. Mining Massive Datasets
@coursera
Coursera strives to provide universal access to a great education. Their data mining course, Mining Massive Datasets, is instructed by Jure Leskovec, Anand Rajaraman, and Jeff Ullman, all of Stanford University. The seven-week course is available at various times throughout the year, and it is best if students have taken courses in database systems, algorithms and data structures, and multivariable calculus and linear algebra.
Key course topics:
Cost: Contact for course pricing
13. Data Mining
@udemy
“The world’s largest destination for online courses,” Udemy offers Data Mining, an introductory course for understanding the patterns, processes, and tools associated with data mining. Data Mining includes 58 lectures and 6 hours of video and requires students to have a basic understanding of the IT industry and a knowledge of the English language.
Key course topics:
Cost: $149
14. Online Graduate Data Mining Certificate Program
@goutamc
The Online Graduate Data Mining Certificate Program is an online program for working professionals looking to acquire data mining or predictive analytics or data science skills through online courses. In addition to the graduate certificate in business data mining, students in the program may also earn three other certificates – SAS and OSU Data Mining Certificate, SAS and OSU Predictive Analytics Certificate, or SAS and OSU Marketing Data Science Certificate – depending on which courses they take and the credentials they achieve.
Key course content:
Cost: Contact for tuition and fee pricing
15. Data Mining with Weka
@prof_martini
@classcentral
Ian Witten is a professor of computer science in New Zealand, who originally is from the University of Calgary in Canada. His data mining course, Data Mining with Weka, provides an introduction to practical data mining with Weka. Weka is “a powerful, yet easy to use tool for machine learning and data mining.” It is worth noting that the course is ranked #3 in data science and Big Data for Class Central course rankings.
Key course topics:
Cost: FREE
16. Data Mining in R – Learning with Case Studies
@statisticscom
Statistics.com offers more than 100 online statistics courses taught by leading authorities. All courses are four weeks in length. Data Mining in R is taught by Dr. Luis Torgo, an associate professor inthe Department of Computer Science at the University of Porto and a researcher at the Laboratory of Artificial Intelligence and Data Analysis (LIAAD). Dr. Torgo also authored the course.
Key course topics:
Cost: $549
17. Data Mining Specialization
@coursera
The Data Mining Specialization is offered by Coursera and was created by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Consisting of five courses and a capstone project, students completing Data Mining Specialization will earn a certificate.
Key course topics:
Cost: $294
18. Data Mining: Concepts and Techniques
@Illinois_Alma
Data Mining: Concepts and Techniques is a data mining eBook by Jiawei Han and Micheline Kamber of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. This data mining eBook offers an in-depth look at data mining, its applications, and the data mining process.
Three key topics we like from Data Mining: Concepts and Techniques:
Cost: FREE
19. Statistical and Machine-Learning Data Mining: Techniques for Better Predictive Modeling and Analysis of Big Data, Second Edition
@CRCPress
A publisher of science, technology, and medical reference books, textbooks, handbooks, and monographs, CRC Press offers Statistical and Machine-Learning Data Mining, a data mining eBook available for purchase or on a six-month or twelve-month rental agreement. Written by Bruce Ratner, the 542-page data mining book covers data mining methods, the importance of data, profit modeling, and much more.
Three key ideas we like from Statistical and Machine-Learning Data Mining:
Cost:
20. Data Mining Algorithms in R
If you are looking for a quick introduction to data mining and data mining algorithms in R, the Data Mining Algorithms in R Wikibook is a good place to start. This data mining eBook includes a description and rationale for data mining, implementation details, and use cases.
Three key topics we like from Data Mining Algorithms in R:
Cost: FREE
21. A Programmer’s Guide to Data Mining
A Programmer’s Guide to Data Mining is a wildly popular data mining eBook by Ron Zacharski, a computer programmer and computational linguist. Zacharski currently is an assistant professor of computer science at University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, Virginia. The data mining guide covers practical data mining, collective intelligence, and building recommendation systems.
Three key topics we like from A Programmer’s Guide to Data Mining:
Cost: FREE
22. Data Mining Tools and Techniques
@ikanowdata
IKANOW is an open, scalable information security platform that provides business intelligence to drive organization change. Their data mining eBook, Data Mining Tools and Techniques, is a robust resource that helps readers learn how to turn Big Data into actionable intelligence, especially for those in the healthcare, insurance, and finance fields.
Three key topics we like from Data Mining Tools and Techniques:
Cost: FREE, with email registration
23. Data Mining: Concepts and Techniques (Third Edition)
@sciencedirect
ScienceDirect is a resource for full-text articles and chapters from more than 2,500 peer-reviewed journals and 33,000 books. Data Mining: Concepts and Techniques (Third Edition) is a comprehensive data mining resource offering 13 chapters on the concepts and techniques used in the data mining process. The data mining eBook focuses on data mining and the tools used in discovering knowledge from the data collected.
Three key topics we like from Data Mining: Concepts and Techniques (Third Edition):
Cost: $31.50/chapter
24. Robust Data Mining
@SpringerMath
Robust Data Mining, a data mining eBook available through Springer, is the work of authors Petros Xanthopoulos, Panos M. Pardalos, and Theodore B. Trafalis. This data mining resource summarizes recent applications of robust optimization in data mining.
Three key topics we like from Robust Data Mining:
Cost: $29.99
25. Data Mining: The Textbook
@SpringerCompSci
Written by Charu C. Aggarwal, Data Mining: The Textbook is a data mining resource that discusses the fundamental methods of data mining, data types, and data mining applications. This data mining resource is appropriate for any level of data mining student, from introductory to advanced.
Three key topics we like from Data Mining: The Textbook:
Cost: $69.99
26. Data Mining Techniques: For Marketing, Sales, and Customer Relationship Management, 3rd Edition
Written by Gordon S. Linoff and Michael J. A. Berry, Data Mining Techniques: For Marketing, Sales, and Customer Relationship Management, 3rd Edition, is a hefty data mining eBook at 888 pages. Considered a leading introductory book to data mining, this data mining resource centers on using the latest data mining methods and techniques to solve common business challenges.
Three key topics we like from Data Mining Techniques: For Marketing, Sales, and Customer Relationship Management, 3rd Edition:
Cost: $32.99
27. Data Mining with Rattle and R: The Art of Excavating Data for Knowledge Discovery
@SpringerNature
Graham Williams writes about programming with data and a few of the more popular algorithms for data mining in this data mining eBook. A resource appropriate for readers without strong backgrounds in computer science and statistics, Data Mining with Rattle and R focuses on the hands-on end-to-end process of data mining.
Three key topics we like from Data Mining with Rattle and R:
Cost: $49.99
28. Chapter 2: Data Mining Methods for Recommender Systems
In this data mining eBook chapter, Xavier Amatriain, Alejandro Jaimes, Nuria Oliver, and Josep M. Pujol provide an overview of the data mining techniques used in recommender systems. They explore the three steps of a basic process of data mining: data preprocessing, data analysis, and result interpretation, making this data mining eBook an approrpriate resource for beginners.
Three key topics we like from Chapter 2: Data Mining Methods for Recommender Systems:
Cost: FREE
29. Data Mining Techniques
@DellSoftware
Dell offers a data mining resource that focuses on data mining techniques as part of its online statistics textbook. Covering an introduction to data mining for both predictive analytics and Big Data, Dell’s Data Mining Techniques is a useful data mining resource that also includes a video, visuals, and links to external resources.
Three key ideas we like from Data Mining Techniques:
Cost: FREE
30. An Overview of Data Mining Techniques
Kurt Thearling, VP of analytics at WEX, offers information about analytics and data science on his website, Thearling.com. One of his data mining resources is an overview of data mining techniques, which is excerpting from the book Building Data Mining Applications for CRM, which he co-wrote with Alex Berson and Stephen Smith.
Three key ideas we like from An Overview of Data Mining Techniques:
Cost: FREE
ZenTut.com provides programming tutorials that are easy to follow in several languages and technologies. They also offer a data mining resource, Data Mining Techniques, that covers a range of the major data mining techniques have been recently developed to address data mining projects.
Three key ideas we like from Data Mining Techniques:
Cost: FREE
32. Data Mining 101: Tools and Techniques
@IaMag_IIA
Internal Auditor Magazine is on a mission to “arm practitioners with the cutting-edge information and practices they need to do their jobs today and tomorrow.” Their Data Mining 101: Tools and Techniques is a resource that provides an in-depth overview of data mining and is well suited to data mining beginners.
Three key ideas we like from Data Mining 101: Tools and Techniques:
Cost: FREE
33. Five Data Mining Techniques That Help Create Business Value
@Datafloq
Datafloq offers Big Data knowledge with the goal of helping everyone understand it better. Their blog post, Five Data Mining Techniques That Help Create Business Value, is a data mining resource rife with information about data mining techniques.
Three key ideas we like from Five Data Mining Techniques That Help Create Business Value:
Cost: FREE
34. Data Mining Tutorial
@tutorialspoint
Tutorials Point offers tutorials on a host of topics, from programming languages to web design. With over 15 million readers reading 35 million pages per month, Tutorials Point is an authority on technical and non-technical subjects, including data mining. In fact, the data mining tutorial from Tutorials Point is intended for computer science graduates who are seeking to understand all levels of concepts related to data mining. This data mining resource is better suited to individuals with a basic understanding of schema, ER model, structured query language, and data warehousing.
Three key topics we like from Data Mining Tutorial:
Cost: FREE
35. DMS – Data Mining Tutorial
The Data Mining Server (DMS) is an internet service providing online data analysis based on knowledge induction. Their data mining tutorial is a data mining resource that includes an introduction to the data mining process, its techniques, and its applications. This particular data mining resource is better suited to beginners.
Three key ideas we like from DMS – Data Mining Tutorial:
Cost: FREE
36. An Introduction to Data Mining by Kurt Thearling, Ph.D.
Kurt Thearling, VP of analytics at WEX, created a comprehensive data mining tutorial that is 93 slides in length. His Introduction to Data Mining is a data mining resource that clearly explains exactly what data mining is and is not, goals of data mining, predictive models, and much more.
Three key ideas we like from An Introduction to Data Mining by Kurt Thearling:
Cost: FREE
37. Statistical Data Mining Tutorials
@awmcmu
The dean of Carnegie Melon University School of Computer Science, Andrew Moore has a background in statistical machine learning, artificial intelligence, robotics, and statistical computation for large volumes of data. He offers statistical data mining tutorials in the hopes that readers find them useful in their quest to learn more about data mining.
Three data mining resources we like from Statistical Data Mining Tutorials:
Cost: FREE
38. Data Mining with STATISTICA – Session 1
@DellSoftware
With more than 127,300 views, Data Mining with STATISTICA – Session 1 is a popular data mining video available on YouTube. From StatSoft, Inc., now a part of Dell, this data mining video offers an introduction to data mining and covers hands-on tutorials of data mining applications. The video is presented by Jennifer Thompson, MS, and is the first in a series of 35 video sessions centering on data mining with STATISTICA.
Three key ideas we like from Data Mining with STATISTICA – Session 1:
Cost: FREE
39. Video Lectures on Data Mining
@videolectures
VideoLectures.NET, an award-winning free and open access educational video lectures repository, features lectures given by top scientists and scholars at conferences, workshops, and other events. VideoLectures.NET features more than 760 data mining video lectures from distinguished speakers, making it a robust data mining resource.
Three videos we like from VideoLectures.NET:
Cost: FREE
40. Data Mining: Failure to Launch – How to Get Predictive Modeling Off the Ground and Into Orbit
@data_mining
The Modeling Agency offers predictive modeling and data mining public training. One of their data webinars, Data Mining: Failure to Launch – How to Get Predictive Modeling Off the Ground and Into Orbit, typically is offered once a month. This 90-minute live interactive event is a vendor-neutral webinar that helps participants learn how to get started with data mining and persevere when data mining projects do not meet their full potential
Three key topics we like from Data Mining: Failure to Launch – How to Get Predictive Modeling Off the Ground and Into Orbit:
Cost: FREE
41. Introduction to R for Data Mining
@RevolutionR
A leading commercial provider of software and support for the R statistics language, Revolution Analytics offers the Introduction to R for Data Mining webinar, available on-demand. Presenter Joseph Rickert is technical marketing manager at Revolution Analytics, and the webinar focuses on data mining as an application area and how to use a basic knowledge of data mining techniques to become productive in R.
Three key topics we like from Introduction to R for Data Mining:
Cost: FREE
42. Data Mining Webinar with Peter Bruce, President, Statistics.com
@analysis_factor
The Analysis Factor provides statistical consulting, resources, and training to help researchers conduct quality work. One of their data mining resources, Data Mining Webinar with Peter Bruce, President, Statistics.com, features guest speaker Peter Bruce, co-author of Data Mining for Business Intelligence. The webinar gives a general overview of data mining techniques and is a good resource for those just beginning to become familiar with data mining.
Three key topics we like from Data Mining Webinar with Peter Bruce, President, Statistics.com:
Cost: FREE, with email registration
43. Fall Webinar Series: Analytics & Data Mining
@ShoWare
ShowWare, a full service, real-time ticketing solution that is redefining how facilities and event planners sell tickets to patrons, offers an analytics and data mining webinar on YouTube. Presented by Joseph Wettstead and Amy Russell of ShoWare, the webinar is 45 minutes in length and explores how data mining lowers costs and raises revenue.
Three key topics we like from Fall Webinar Series: Analytics & Data Mining:
Cost: FREE
44. Three Webinars Give Tips on Data Mining
@socscispace
Social Science Space is a social network that joins social scientists who want to explore, share, and shape important issues in social science. Their share three webinars that offer tips on data mining, and all three are equally valuable data mining resources.
Three ideas we like from Three Webinars Give Tips on Data Mining:
Cost: FREE
45. Text and Data Mining in the Humanities and Social Sciences – Strategies and Tools
@CRL_Global
Peter Leonard, Director of Digital Humanities Laboratory, and Lindsay King, Assistant Director of the Haas Art Library, both of Yale University, explore the rise in popularity of text and data mining in this 80-minute webinar. The webinar also demonstrates the Robots Reading Vogue project to demonstrate the data mining research applications.
Three key ideas we like from Text and Data Mining in the Humanities and Social Sciences – Strategies and Tools:
Cost: FREE
46. Data Mining: The Tool of the Information Age Revolution
@Stanford
A leading research and teaching institution, Stanford University offers Data Mining: The Tool of the Information Age, a webinar made available through the Stanford Center for Professional Development. The webinar features Dr. Rajan Patel, a visiting instructor in the statistics department at Stanford, who also is a search scientist at Google. This data mining webinar is nearly an hour in length.
Three key ideas we like from Data Mining: The Tool of the Information Age Revolution:
Cost: FREE
47. Mining Online Data Across Social Networks
@Stanford
Also made available by the Stanford University Center for Professional Development, Mining Online Data Across Social Networks is a webinar featuring Dr. Jure Leskovec, assistant professor of computer science at Stanford and author of the Stanford Network Analysis Platform (SNAP). The data mining webinar is a little over 60 minutes in length and explores the various approaches for tracking and predicting information in online networks.
Three key topics we like from Mining Online Data Across Social Networks:
Cost: FREE
48. Webinar: Data Mining with R
@BLGDataResearch
BLG Data Research is a research center that explores the use of innovative and complex smart data to gain insights for business and local government. Their 45-minute data mining webinar, Data Mining with R, features Richard Skeggs of BLG Data Research and his discussion of the process of data mining using R.
Three key topics we like from Data Mining with R:
Cost: FREE
49. Google Analytics Data Mining with R (Includes 3 Real Applications)
@tatvic
Tatvic is all about web analytics, and they seek to help companies utilize their data successfully. Their data mining webinar, Google Analytics Data Mining with R (Includes 3 Real Applications), is intended for data analysts, web analysts, and digital marketing managers who are data mining beginners. The webinar features speakers Andy Granowitz, developer advocate at Google Analytics, and Kushan Shah, web analyst at Tatvic.
Three key topics we like from Google Analytics Data Mining with R (Includes 3 Real Applications):
Cost: FREE with email registration
50. Data Mining Algorithms and Tools in Weka
@Pentaho
A Hitachi Data Systems company, Pentaho is a data integration and business analytics company that offers an enterprise, open source platform for Big Data deployments. Their data mining Wiki, Data Mining Algorithms and Tools in Weka, contains links to overview information regarding the various types of learning scheme and tools included in Weka for data mining.
Three key resources we like from Data Mining Algorithms and Tools in Weka:
Cost: FREE