Mining information from data: A present-day gold rush

Mining information from data: A presentday gold rush. Data Mining is a multidisciplinary field which supports knowledge workers who try to extract information in our “data rich, information poor” environment. Its name stems from the idea of mining knowledge from large amounts of data. The tools it provides assist us in the discovery of relevant information through a wide range of data analysis techniques. Any method used to extract patterns from a given data source is considered to be a data mining technique. Han and Kamber’s book provides more than a good starting point for those interested in this eclectic research field. The book surveys techniques for the main tasks data miners have to perform. Most existing data mining texts emphasize the managerial and marketing aspects involved in the adoption of this technology by modern enterprises. In contrast, Han and Kamber’s textbook focuses on issues such as algorithmic efficiency and scalability from a database perspective.