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Data mining is the process of analyzing data to find previously unknown trends, patterns, and associations in order to make decisions. Generally, data mining is accomplished through automated means against extremely large data sets, such as a data warehouse. Some examples of data mining include:
- An analysis of sales from a large grocery chain might determine that milk is purchased more frequently the day after it rains in cities with a population of less than 50,000.
- A bank may find that loan applicants whose bank accounts show particular deposit and withdrawal patterns are not good credit risks.
- A baseball team may find that collegiate baseball players with specific statistics in hitting, pitching, and fielding make for more successful major league players.
In some cases, a data-mining project is begun with a hypothetical result in mind. For example, a grocery chain may already have some idea that buying patterns change after it rains and want to get a deeper understanding of exactly what is happening. In other cases, there are no presuppositions and a data-mining program is run against large data sets in order to find patterns and associations.
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