t

aaData Science
Interview Questions
lliP
te
In

Click here to view the live version of the page

Contact us: support@intellipaat.com / © Copyright Intellipaat / All rights reserved

Data Science Interview Questions

Top 110+ Data Science Interview Questions And

Answers

Data Science is among the leading and most popular technologies in the world today.
Major organizations are hiring professionals in this field with high salaries due to the
increasing demand and low availability of these professionals. Data scientists are
among the highest-paid IT professionals. This data science interview preparation blog

t
includes the most frequently asked questions in data science job interviews.

aa
Following are the three categories into which these Data Science interview questions
are divided:

Basic Data Science Interview Questions for Freshers

lliP
Data Science Interview Questions for Intermediate

Data Science Interview Questions for Experienced

te

Data Scientist Salary Based on Experience

Data Science Trends in 2024

In

Job Opportunities in Data Science

Roles and Responsibilities of Data Scientists

Conclusion

Contact us: support@intellipaat.com / © Copyright Intellipaat / All rights reserved

Data Science Interview Questions

Did You Know?

1. According to Forbes, it is estimated that by 2025, the global volume of data will
reach 175 zettabytes, thus increasing the need for Data Science to identify
meaningful inferences.
2. An AI-generated text prediction model was trained to write a Harry Potter novel
chapter.
3. According to multiple surveys, the success rate of a data science project is 34%.

t
aa
Basic Data Science Interview Questions For
Freshers
lliP
1. What is Data Science?

Data Science is a field of computer science that explicitly deals with turning data into
information and extracting meaningful insights from it. The reason why Data Science is
so popular is that the kind of insights it allows us to draw from the available data has
te

led to some major innovations in several products and companies. Using these insights,
we are able to determine the taste of a particular customer, the likelihood of a product
succeeding in a particular market, etc.
In

Check out this comprehensive Data Scientist Course!

2. Differentiate between Data Analytics and Data Science

Data Analytics Data Science

Contact us: support@intellipaat.com / © Copyright Intellipaat / All rights reserved

Data Science Interview Questions

Data Analytics is a subset of Data Data Science is a broad technology that

Science. includes various subsets such as Data
Analytics, Data Mining, Data
Visualization, etc.

The goal of data analytics is to illustrate The goal of data science is to discover
the precise details of retrieved insights. meaningful insights from massive
datasets and derive the best possible

t
solutions to resolve business issues.

aa
Requires just basic programming Requires knowledge in advanced
languages. programming languages, statistics, and
special machine learning algorithms.
lliP
It focuses on just finding the solutions. Data Science not only focuses on
finding solutions but also predicts the
future with past patterns or insights.

A data analyst’s job is to analyze data in A data scientist’s job is to provide

te

order to make decisions. insightful data visualizations from raw

data that are easily understandable.
In

Become an expert in Data Scientist. Enroll now in PG program in Data Science and Machine
Learning from MITxMicroMasters

3. How is Python Useful?

Python is widely recognized as an exceptionally advantageous programming language

due to its versatility and simplicity. Its extensive range of applications and associated

Contact us: support@intellipaat.com / © Copyright Intellipaat / All rights reserved

Data Science Interview Questions

benefits have established it as a preferred choice among developers. Notably, Python

stands out in terms of readability and user-friendliness.

Its syntax is meticulously designed to be intuitive and concise, enabling ease in coding,
comprehension, and maintenance. Additionally, Python offers a comprehensive
standard library that encompasses a diverse collection of pre-built modules and
functions. This wealth of resources substantially minimizes the time and effort
expended by developers, streamlining the execution of routine programming tasks.

t
Understand How Data Science and AI were used to Fight Covid-19

aa
4. How R is Useful in the Data Science Domain?

Here are some ways in which R is useful in the data science domain:
lliP
● Data Manipulation and Analysis: R offers a comprehensive collection of
libraries and functions that facilitate proficient data manipulation,
transformation, and statistical analysis.
● Statistical Modeling and Machine Learning: R offers a wide range of packages
for advanced statistical modeling and machine learning tasks, empowering
te

data scientists to build predictive models and perform complex analyses.

● Data Visualization: R’s extensive visualization libraries enable the creation of
visually appealing and insightful plots, charts, and graphs.
● Reproducible Research: R supports the integration of code, data, and
In

documentation, facilitating reproducible workflows and ensuring

transparency in data science projects.

5. What is Supervised Learning?

Supervised learning is a machine learning approach in which an algorithm learns from

labeled training data to make predictions or classify new, unseen data. It involves the

Contact us: support@intellipaat.com / © Copyright Intellipaat / All rights reserved

Data Science Interview Questions

use of input data and corresponding output labels, allowing the algorithm to learn
patterns and relationships. The goal is to generalize the learned patterns and accurately
predict outputs for new input data based on the learned patterns.

Have a look at a few Data Science projects for Beginners

6. What is Unsupervised Learning?

t
Unsupervised learning is a machine learning approach wherein an algorithm uncovers

aa
patterns and structures within unlabeled data, operating without explicit guidance or
predetermined output labels. Its objective is to reveal hidden relationships, patterns,
and clusters present in the data. Unlike supervised learning, the algorithm
autonomously explores the data to identify inherent structures and draw inferences,
proving valuable for exploratory data analysis and the discovery of novel insights.
lliP
7. What do you understand about Linear Regression?

Linear regression helps in understanding the linear relationship between the

dependent and the independent variables. Linear regression is a supervised learning
te

algorithm, which helps in finding the linear relationship between two variables. One is
the predictor or the independent variable and the other is the response or the
dependent variable. In linear regression, we try to understand how the dependent
variable changes with respect to the independent variable. If there is only one
In

independent variable, then it is called simple linear regression, and if there is more
than one independent variable then it is known as multiple linear regression.

8. What do you understand by logistic regression?

Logistic regression is a classification algorithm that can be used when the dependent
variable is binary. Let’s take an example. Here, we are trying to determine whether it
will rain or not on the basis of temperature and humidity.

Contact us: support@intellipaat.com / © Copyright Intellipaat / All rights reserved

Data Science Interview Questions

Temperature and humidity are the independent variables, and rain would be our

t
dependent variable. So, the logistic regression algorithm actually produces an S shape

aa
curve.
lliP
te

So, basically in logistic regression, the Y value lies within the range of 0 and 1. This is
how logistic regression works.
In

9. What is a confusion matrix?

The confusion matrix is a table that is used to estimate the performance of a model. It
tabulates the actual values and the predicted values in a 2×2 matrix.

Contact us: support@intellipaat.com / © Copyright Intellipaat / All rights reserved

Data Science Interview Questions

True Positive (d): This denotes all of those records where the actual values are true and

t
the predicted values are also true. So, these denote all of the true positives. False

aa
Negative (c): This denotes all of those records where the actual values are true, but the
predicted values are false. False Positive (b): In this, the actual values are false, but the
predicted values are true. True Negative (a): Here, the actual values are false and the
predicted values are also false. So, if you want to get the correct values, then correct
values would basically represent all of the true positives and the true negatives. This is
lliP
how the confusion matrix works.

10. What do you understand about the true-positive rate

and false-positive rate?
te

True positive rate: In Machine Learning, true-positive rates, which are also referred to
as sensitivity or recall, are used to measure the percentage of actual positives which are
correctly identified. Formula:
In

1rue Positive Rate = True Positives/Positives

False positive rate: False positive rate is basically the probability of falsely rejecting the
null hypothesis for a particular test. The false-positive rate is calculated as the ratio

Contact us: support@intellipaat.com / © Copyright Intellipaat / All rights reserved

Data Science Interview Questions

between the number of negative events wrongly categorized as positive (false positive)
upon the total number of actual events. Formula:

1alse-Positive Rate = False-Positives/Negatives.

Check out this comprehensive Data Science Course in India!

t
aa
11. How is Data Science different from traditional
application programming?

Data Science takes a fundamentally different approach to building systems that provide
lliP
value than traditional application development.

In traditional programming paradigms, we used to analyze the input, figure out the
expected output, and write code, which contains rules and statements needed to
transform the provided input into the expected output. As we can imagine, these rules
were not easy to write, especially, for data that even computers had a hard time
te

understanding, e.g., images, videos, etc.

Data Science shifts this process a little bit. In it, we need access to large volumes of data
that contain the necessary inputs and their mappings to the expected outputs. Then,
In

we use data science algorithms, which use mathematical analysis to generate rules to
map the given inputs to outputs.

This process of rule generation is called training. After training, we use some data that
was set aside before the training phase to test and check the system’s accuracy. The
generated rules are a kind of black box, and we cannot understand how the inputs are
being transformed into outputs.

Contact us: support@intellipaat.com / © Copyright Intellipaat / All rights reserved

Data Science Interview Questions

However, If the accuracy is good enough, then we can use the system (also called a
model).

As described above, in traditional programming, we had to write the rules to map the
input to the output, but in Data Science, the rules are automatically generated or
learned from the given data. This helped solve some really difficult challenges that were
being faced by several companies.

Interested in learning Data Science skills? Check out our Data Science course in Bangalore

t
Now!

aa
12. Explain the differences between supervised and
unsupervised learning.
lliP
Supervised and unsupervised learning are two types of Machine Learning techniques.
They both allow us to build models. However, they are used for solving different kinds
of problems.
te

Supervised Learning Unsupervised Learning

Works on the data that contains both Works on the data that contains no
inputs and the expected output, i.e., mappings from input to output, i.e., the
In

the labeled data unlabeled data

Used to create models that can be Used to extract meaningful information

employed to predict or classify things out of large volumes of data

Contact us: support@intellipaat.com / © Copyright Intellipaat / All rights reserved

Data Science Interview Questions

Commonly used supervised learning Commonly used unsupervised learning

algorithms: Linear regression, algorithms: K-means clustering, Apriori
decision tree, etc. algorithm, etc.

13. What is the difference between long-format data and

wide-format data?

t
aa
Long Format Data Wide Format Data

A long format data has a column Whereas, Wide data has a column for each
for possible variable types and a variable.
lliP
column for the values of those
variables.

Each row in the long format The repeated responses of a subject will be in
represents a one-time point per a single row, with each response in its own
subject. As a result, each topic will column, in the wide format.
te

contain many rows of data.

This data format is most typically This data format is most widely used in data
used in R analysis and for writing manipulations, and stats programmes for
In

to log files at the end of each repeated measures ANOVAs and is seldom
experiment. used in R analysis.

A long format contains values A wide format contains values that do not
that do repeat in the first column. repeat in the first column.

Contact us: support@intellipaat.com / © Copyright Intellipaat / All rights reserved

Data Science Interview Questions

Use df.melt() to convert the wide use df.pivot().reset_index() to convert the long
form to long form form into wide form

If you are a UI/UX design enthusiast, learn how to become a UI UX designer with a
step-by-step guide.

14. Mention some techniques used for sampling. What is

t
the main advantage of sampling?

aa
Sampling is defined as the process of selecting a sample from a group of people or
from any particular kind for research purposes. It is one of the most important factors
which decides the accuracy of a research/survey result.
lliP
Mainly, there are two types of sampling techniques:

Probability sampling: It involves random selection which makes every element get a
chance to be selected. Probability sampling has various subtypes in it, as mentioned
below:
te

● Simple Random Sampling

● Stratified sampling
In

● Systematic sampling
● Cluster Sampling
● Multi-stage Sampling

Non- Probability Sampling: Non-probability sampling follows non-random selection

which means the selection is done based on your ease or any other required criteria.
This helps to collect the data easily. The following are various types of sampling in it:

● Convenience Sampling

Contact us: support@intellipaat.com / © Copyright Intellipaat / All rights reserved

Data Science Interview Questions

● Purposive Sampling
● Quota Sampling
● Referral /Snowball Sampling

15. What is bias in data science?

Bias is a type of error that occurs in a data science model because of using an algorithm
that is not strong enough to capture the underlying patterns or trends that exist in the

t
data. In other words, this error occurs when the data is too complicated for the
algorithm to understand, so it ends up building a model that makes simple

aa
assumptions. This leads to lower accuracy because of underfitting. Algorithms that can
lead to high bias are linear regression, logistic regression, etc.

Want to know about a few applications of Data Science, Have a look at the Top 8 Data
lliP
Science Applications

16. What is dimensionality reduction?

Dimensionality reduction is the process of converting a dataset with a high number of

te

dimensions (fields) to a dataset with a lower number of dimensions. This is done by

dropping some fields or columns from the dataset. However, this is not done
haphazardly. In this process, the dimensions or fields are dropped only after making
sure that the remaining information will still be enough to succinctly describe similar
In

information.

17. Why is Python used for data cleaning in DS?

Data Scientists have to clean and transform huge data sets into a form that they can
work with. It is important to deal with redundant data for better results by removing
nonsensical outliers, malformed records, missing values, inconsistent formatting, etc.

Contact us: support@intellipaat.com / © Copyright Intellipaat / All rights reserved

Data Science Interview Questions

Python libraries such as Matplotlib, Pandas, Numpy, Keras, and SciPy are extensively
used for data cleaning and analysis. These libraries are used to load and clean the data
and do effective analysis. For instance, you might decide to remove outliers that are
beyond a certain standard deviation from the mean of a numerical column.

1. mean = df["Price"].mean();
2. std = df["Price"].std();
3. threshold = mean + (3 * std); # Set a threshold for outliers
4. df = df[df["Price"] < threshold] # Remove outliers

t
aa
Hence, this is how the process of data cleaning is done using python libraries in the
field of data science.

Learn more about Data Cleaning in a Data Science Tutorial!

lliP
18. Why is R used in Data Visualization?

R provides the best ecosystem for data analysis and visualization with more than
12,000 packages in Open-source repositories. It has huge community support, which
means you can easily find the solution to your problems on various platforms like
te

StackOverflow.

It has better data management and supports distributed computing by splitting the
In

operations between multiple tasks and nodes, which eventually decreases the
complexity and execution time of large datasets.

19. What are the popular libraries used in Data Science?

Below are the popular libraries used for data extraction, cleaning, visualization, and
deploying DS models:

Contact us: support@intellipaat.com / © Copyright Intellipaat / All rights reserved

Data Science Interview Questions

● TensorFlow: Supports parallel computing with impeccable library

management backed by Google.
● SciPy: Mainly used for solving differential equations, multidimensional
programming, data manipulation, and visualization through graphs and
charts.
● Pandas: Used to implement the ETL(Extracting, Transforming, and Loading
the datasets) capabilities in business applications.
● Matplotlib: Being free and open-source, it can be used as a replacement for
MATLAB, which results in better performance and low memory consumption.

t
● PyTorch: Best for projects which involve ,machine learning algorithms and

aa
deep neural networks.

Interested to learn more about Data Science, check out our Data Science Course in Chennai!

Courses you may like

lliP
te
In

20. What are important functions used in Data Science?

Within the realm of data science, various pivotal functions assume critical roles across
diverse tasks. Among these, two foundational functions are the cost function and the
loss function.

Contact us: support@intellipaat.com / © Copyright Intellipaat / All rights reserved

Data Science Interview Questions

Cost function: Also referred to as the objective function, the cost function holds
substantial utility within machine learning algorithms, especially in optimization
scenarios. Its purpose is to quantify the disparity between predicted values and actual
values. Minimizing the cost function entails optimizing the model’s parameters or
coefficients, aiming to achieve an optimal solution.

Loss function: Loss functions possess significant significance in supervised learning

endeavors. They evaluate the discrepancy or error between predicted values and actual
labels. The selection of a specific loss function depends on the problem at hand, such

t
as employing mean squared error (MSE) for regression tasks or cross-entropy loss for

aa
classification tasks. The loss function guides the model’s optimization process during
training, ultimately bolstering accuracy and overall performance.

Have a look at Data Data Science vs. Data Analytics to understand the key differences
lliP
21. What is k-fold cross-validation?

In k-fold cross-validation, we divide the dataset into k equal parts. After this, we loop
over the entire dataset k times. In each iteration of the loop, one of the k parts is used
for testing, and the other k − 1 parts are used for training. Using k-fold cross-validation,
te

each one of the k parts of the dataset ends up being used for training and testing
purposes.

22. Explain how a recommender system works.

In

A recommender system is a system that many consumer-facing, content-driven, online

platforms employ to generate recommendations for users from a library of available
content. These systems generate recommendations based on what they know about
the users’ tastes from their activities on the platform.

Contact us: support@intellipaat.com / © Copyright Intellipaat / All rights reserved

Data Science Interview Questions

For example, imagine that we have a movie streaming platform, similar to Netflix or
Amazon Prime. If a user has previously watched and liked movies from action and
horror genres, then it means that the user likes watching movies of these genres. In
that case, it would be better to recommend such movies to this particular user. These
recommendations can also be generated based on what users with similar tastes like
watching.

23. What is Poisson Distribution?

t
The Poisson distribution is a statistical probability distribution used to represent the

aa
occurrence of events within a specific interval of time or space. It is commonly
employed to characterize infrequent events that happen independently and at a
consistent average rate, such as quantifying the number of incoming phone calls
received within a given hour.
lliP
Learn how to make sure people type in the right email on your website. It’s easy with
JavaScript – read email validation in JavaScript

24. What is a normal distribution?

te

Data distribution is a visualization tool to analyze how data is spread out or distributed.
Data can be distributed in various ways. For instance, it could be with a bias to the left
or the right, or it could all be jumbled up.
In

Data may also be distributed around a central value, i.e., mean, median, etc. This kind
of distribution has no bias either to the left or to the right and is in the form of a
bell-shaped curve. This distribution also has its mean equal to the median. This kind of
distribution is called a normal distribution.

Contact us: support@intellipaat.com / © Copyright Intellipaat / All rights reserved

Data Science Interview Questions

25. What is Deep Learning?

Deep Learning is a kind of Machine Learning, in which neural networks are used to
imitate the structure of the human brain, and just like how a brain learns from
information, machines are also made to learn from the information that is provided to
them.

Deep Learning is an advanced version of neural networks to make the machines learn

t
from data. In Deep Learning, the neural networks comprise many hidden layers (which
is why it is called ‘deep’ learning) that are connected to each other, and the output of

aa
the previous layer is the input of the current layer.

26. What is CNN (Convolutional Neural Network)?

lliP
A Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) is an advanced deep learning architecture
designed specifically for analyzing visual data, such as images and videos. It is
composed of interconnected layers of neurons that utilize convolutional operations to
extract meaningful features from the input data. CNNs exhibit remarkable effectiveness
in tasks like image classification, object detection, and image recognition, thanks to
their inherent ability to autonomously learn hierarchical representations and capture
te

spatial relationships within the data, eliminating the need for explicit feature
engineering.
In

27. What is an RNN (recurrent neural network)?

A recurrent neural network, or RNN for short, is a kind of Machine Learning algorithm
that makes use of the artificial neural network. RNNs are used to find patterns from a
sequence of data, such as time series, stock market, temperature, etc. RNNs are a kind
of feedforward network, in which information from one layer passes to another layer,
and each node in the network performs mathematical operations on the data. These
operations are temporal, i.e., RNNs store contextual information about previous

Contact us: support@intellipaat.com / © Copyright Intellipaat / All rights reserved

Data Science Interview Questions

computations in the network. It is called recurrent because it performs the same

operations on some data every time it is passed. However, the output may be different
based on past computations and their results.

28. Explain selection bias.

Selection bias is the bias that occurs during the sampling of data. This kind of bias
occurs when a sample is not representative of the population, which is going to be

t
analyzed in a statistical study.

aa
29. Between Python and R, which one will you choose for
analyzing the text, and why?
lliP
Due to the following factors, Python will outperform R for text analytics:

● Python’s Pandas module provides high-performance data analysis

capabilities as well as simple-to-use data structures.
● Python does all sorts of text analytics more quickly.
te

30. Explain the purpose of data cleaning

Data cleaning’s primary goal is to rectify or eliminate inaccurate, corrupted, improperly

In

formatted, duplicate, or incomplete data from a dataset. This often yields better
outcomes and a higher return on investment for marketing and communications
efforts.

Contact us: support@intellipaat.com / © Copyright Intellipaat / All rights reserved

Data Science Interview Questions

31. What do you understand from Recommender System?

and State its application

Recommender Systems are a subclass of information filtering systems designed to

forecast the preferences or ratings given to a product by a user.

The Amazon product suggestions page is an example of a recommender system in use.

Based on the user’s search history and previous orders, this area contains products.

t
aa
32. What is Gradient Descent?

An iterative first-order optimization process called gradient descent (GD) is used to

locate the local minimum and maximum of a given function. This technique is
lliP
frequently applied in machine learning (ML) and deep learning (DL) to minimize a
cost/loss function (for example, in linear regression).

33. What are the various skills required to become Data

Scientist?
te

The following skills are necessary to become a certified Data Scientist:

● Having familiarity with built-in data types like lists, tuples, sets, and related.
In

● N-dimensional NumPy array knowledge is required.

● Being able to use Pandas and Dataframes.
● Strong holdover performance in vectors with only one element.
● Hands-on experience with Tableau and PowerBI.

Contact us: support@intellipaat.com / © Copyright Intellipaat / All rights reserved

Data Science Interview Questions

34. What is TensorFlow?

A free and open-source software library for machine learning and artificial intelligence
is called TensorFlow. It enables programmers to build dataflow graphs, which are
representations of the flow of data among processing nodes in a graph.

35. What is Dropout?

t
In Data Science, the term “dropout” refers to the process of randomly removing visible

aa
and hidden network units. By eliminating up to 20% of the nodes, they avoid overfitting
the data and allow for the necessary space to be set up for the network’s iterative
convergence process.

36. State any five Deep Learning Frameworks.

lliP
Some of the Deep Learning frameworks are:

● Caffe
● Keras
te

● TensorFlow
● Pytorch
● Chainer
● Microsoft Cognitive Toolkit
In

37. Define Neural Networks and its types

Neural Networks are computational models that derive their principles from the
structure and functionality of the human brain. Consisting of interconnected artificial
neurons organized in layers, Neural Networks exhibit remarkable capacities in learning
and discerning patterns within datasets. Consequently, they assume a pivotal role in

Contact us: support@intellipaat.com / © Copyright Intellipaat / All rights reserved

Data Science Interview Questions

diverse domains including pattern recognition, classification, and optimization, thereby

providing invaluable solutions in the realm of artificial intelligence.

There exist various types of Neural Networks, including:

● Feedforward Neural Networks: These networks facilitate a unidirectional

information flow, progressing from input to output. They find frequent
application in tasks involving pattern recognition and classification.
● Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs): Specifically tailored for grid-like data,

t
such as images or videos, CNNs leverage convolutional layers to extract

aa
meaningful features. Their prowess lies in tasks like image classification and
object detection.
● Recurrent Neural Networks (RNNs): RNNs are particularly adept at handling
sequential data, wherein the present output is influenced by past inputs.
They are extensively utilized in domains such as language modeling and time
lliP
series analysis.
● Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) Networks: This variation of RNNs addresses
the issue of vanishing gradients and excels at capturing long-term
dependencies in data. LSTM networks find wide-ranging applications in areas
like speech recognition and natural language processing.
● Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs): GANs consist of a generator and a
te

discriminator that is trained in a competitive manner. They are employed to

generate new data samples and are helpful for tasks like image generation
and text synthesis.
In

These examples represent only a fraction of the available variations and architectures
tailored to specific data types and problem domains.

Data Science Interview Questions For

Intermediate

Contact us: support@intellipaat.com / © Copyright Intellipaat / All rights reserved

Data Science Interview Questions

38. What is the ROC curve?

It stands for Receiver Operating Characteristic. It is basically a plot between a true

positive rate and a false positive rate, and it helps us to find out the right tradeoff
between the true positive rate and the false positive rate for different probability
thresholds of the predicted values. So, the closer the curve to the upper left corner, the
better the model is. In other words, whichever curve has greater area under it that
would be the better model. You can see this in the below graph:

t
aa
lliP
te
In

39. What do you understand by a decision tree?

A decision tree is a supervised learning algorithm that is used for both classification and
regression. Hence, in this case, the dependent variable can be both a numerical value
and a categorical value.

Contact us: support@intellipaat.com / © Copyright Intellipaat / All rights reserved

Data Science Interview Questions

t
aa
Here, each node denotes the test on an attribute, and each edge denotes the outcome
of that attribute, and each leaf node holds the class label. So, in this case, we have a
series of test conditions that give the final decision according to the condition.

Are you interested in learning Data Science from experts? Enroll in our Data Science Course
lliP
in Hyderabad now!

40. What do you understand by a random forest model?

It combines multiple models together to get the final output or, to be more precise, it
te

combines multiple decision trees together to get the final output. So, decision trees are
the building blocks of the random forest model.
In

Contact us: support@intellipaat.com / © Copyright Intellipaat / All rights reserved

Data Science Interview Questions

41. Two candidates, Aman and Mohan appear for a Data

Science Job interview. The probability of Aman cracking the
interview is 1/8 and that of Mohan is 5/12. What is the
probability that at least one of them will crack the
interview?

The probability of Aman getting selected for the interview is 1/8

t
aa
P(A) = 1/8

The probability of Mohan getting selected for the interview is 5/12

P(B)=5/12
lliP
Now, the probability of at least one of them getting selected can be denoted at the
Union of A and B, which means

P(A U B) =P(A)+ P(B) – (P(A ∩ B)) ………………………(1)

te

Where P(A ∩ B) stands for the probability of both Aman and Mohan getting selected for
the job.
In

To calculate the final answer, we first have to find out the value of P(A ∩ B)

So, P(A ∩ B) = P(A) * P(B)

1/8 * 5/12

5/96

Contact us: support@intellipaat.com / © Copyright Intellipaat / All rights reserved

Data Science Interview Questions

Now, put the value of P(A ∩ B) into equation (1)

P(A U B) =P(A)+ P(B) – (P(A ∩ B))

1/8 + 5/12 -5/96

So, the answer will be 47/96.

t
42. How is Data modeling different from Database design?

aa
Data Modeling: It can be considered as the first step towards the design of a database.
Data modeling creates a conceptual model based on the relationship between various
data models. The process involves moving from the conceptual stage to the logical
model to the physical schema. It involves the systematic method of applying data
lliP
modeling techniques.

Database Design: This is the process of designing the database. The database design
creates an output which is a detailed data model of the database. Strictly speaking,
database design includes the detailed logical model of a database but it can also
include physical design choices and storage parameters.
te

43. What is precision?

In

Precision: When we are implementing algorithms for the classification of data or the
retrieval of information, precision helps us get a portion of positive class values that are
positively predicted. Basically, it measures the accuracy of correct positive predictions.
Below is the formula to calculate precision:

Contact us: support@intellipaat.com / © Copyright Intellipaat / All rights reserved

Data Science Interview Questions

44. What is a recall?

Recall: It is the set of all positive predictions out of the total number of positive
instances. Recall helps us identify the misclassified positive predictions. We use the

t
below formula to calculate recall:

aa
lliP
45. What is the F1 score and how to calculate it?

F1 score helps us calculate the harmonic mean of precision and recall that gives us the
test’s accuracy. If F1 = 1, then precision and recall are accurate. If F1 < 1 or equal to 0,
te

then precision or recall is less accurate, or they are completely inaccurate. See below
for the formula to calculate the F1 score:
In

Contact us: support@intellipaat.com / © Copyright Intellipaat / All rights reserved

Data Science Interview Questions

46. What is a p-value?

P-value is the measure of the statistical importance of an observation. It is the

probability that shows the significance of output to the data. We compute the p-value
to know the test statistics of a model. Typically, it helps us choose whether we can
accept or reject the null hypothesis.

47. Why do we use p-value?

t
aa
We use the p-value to understand whether the given data really describes the observed
effect or not. We use the below formula to calculate the p-value for the effect ‘E’ and the
null hypothesis ‘H0’ is true:
lliP
48. What is the difference between an error and a residual
error?
te

An error occurs in values while the prediction gives us the difference between the
observed values and the true values of a dataset. Whereas, the residual error is the
In

difference between the observed values and the predicted values. The reason we use
the residual error to evaluate the performance of an algorithm is that the true values
are never known. Hence, we use the observed values to measure the error using
residuals. It helps us get an accurate estimate of the error.

Contact us: support@intellipaat.com / © Copyright Intellipaat / All rights reserved

Data Science Interview Questions

49. Why do we use the summary function?

The summary function in R gives us the statistics of the implemented algorithm on a

particular dataset. It consists of various objects, variables, data attributes, etc. It
provides summary statistics for individual objects when fed into the function. We use a
summary function when we want information about the values present in the dataset.
It gives us the summary statistics in the following form:

t
aa
lliP
Here, it gives the minimum and maximum values from a specific column of the dataset.
Also, it provides the median, mean, 1st quartile, and 3rd quartile values that help us
te

understand the values better.

50. How are Data Science and Machine Learning related to

In

each other?

Data Science and Machine Learning are two terms that are closely related but are often
misunderstood. Both of them deal with data. However, there are some fundamental
distinctions that show us how they are different from each other.

Data Science is a broad field that deals with large volumes of data and allows us to
draw insights from this voluminous data. The entire process of data science takes care

Contact us: support@intellipaat.com / © Copyright Intellipaat / All rights reserved

Data Science Interview Questions

of multiple steps that are involved in drawing insights out of the available data. This
process includes crucial steps such as data gathering, data analysis, data manipulation,
data visualization, etc.

Machine Learning, on the other hand, can be thought of as a sub-field of data science. It
also deals with data, but here, we are solely focused on learning how to convert the
processed data into a functional model, which can be used to map inputs to outputs,
e.g., a model that can expect an image as an input and tell us if that image contains a
flower as an output.

t
aa
In short, data science deals with gathering data, processing it, and finally, drawing
insights from it. The field of data science that deals with building models using
algorithms is called machine learning. Therefore, machine learning is an integral part of
data science.
lliP
51. Explain univariate, bivariate, and multivariate analyses.

When we are dealing with data analysis, we often come across terms such as univariate,
bivariate, and multivariate. Let’s try and understand what these mean.
te

● Univariate analysis: Univariate analysis involves analyzing data with only one
variable or, in other words, a single column or a vector of the data. This
analysis allows us to understand the data and extract patterns and trends
from it. Example: Analyzing the weight of a group of people.
In

● Bivariate analysis: Bivariate analysis involves analyzing the data with exactly
two variables or, in other words, the data can be put into a two-column table.
This kind of analysis allows us to figure out the relationship between the
variables. Example: Analyzing the data that contains temperature and
altitude.
● Multivariate analysis: Multivariate analysis involves analyzing the data with
more than two variables. The number of columns of the data can be
anything more than two. This kind of analysis allows us to figure out the

Contact us: support@intellipaat.com / © Copyright Intellipaat / All rights reserved

Data Science Interview Questions

effects of all other variables (input variables) on a single variable (the output
variable).

Example: Analyzing data about house prices, which contains information about the
houses, such as locality, crime rate, area, the number of floors, etc.

52. How can we handle missing data?

t
To be able to handle missing data, we first need to know the percentage of data missing

aa
in a particular column so that we can choose an appropriate strategy to handle the
situation.

For example, if in a column the majority of the data is missing, then dropping the
column is the best option, unless we have some means to make educated guesses
lliP
about the missing values. However, if the amount of missing data is low, then we have
several strategies to fill them up.

One way would be to fill them all up with a default value or a value that has the highest
frequency in that column, such as 0 or 1, etc. This may be useful if the majority of the
data in that column contains these values.
te

Another way is to fill up the missing values in the column with the mean of all the
values in that column. This technique is usually preferred as the missing values have a
In

higher chance of being closer to the mean than to the mode.

Finally, if we have a huge dataset and a few rows have values missing in some columns,
then the easiest and fastest way is to drop those columns. Since the dataset is large,
dropping a few columns should not be a problem anyway.

53. What is the benefit of dimensionality reduction?

Contact us: support@intellipaat.com / © Copyright Intellipaat / All rights reserved

Data Science Interview Questions

Dimensionality reduction reduces the dimensions and size of the entire dataset. It
drops unnecessary features while retaining the overall information in the data intact.
Reduction in dimensions leads to faster processing of the data.

The reason why data with high dimensions is considered so difficult to deal with is that
it leads to high time consumption while processing the data and training a model on it.
Reducing dimensions speeds up this process, removes noise, and also leads to better
model accuracy.

t
54. What is a bias-variance trade-off in Data Science?

aa
When building a model using Data Science or Machine Learning, our goal is to build one
that has low bias and variance. We know that bias and variance are both errors that
occur due to either an overly simplistic model or an overly complicated model.
lliP
Therefore, when we are building a model, the goal of getting high accuracy is only going
to be accomplished if we are aware of the tradeoff between bias and variance.

Bias is an error that occurs when a model is too simple to capture the patterns in a
dataset. To reduce bias, we need to make our model more complex. Although making
the model more complex can lead to reducing bias, if we make the model too complex,
te

it may end up becoming too rigid, leading to high variance. So, the tradeoff between
bias and variance is that if we increase the complexity, the bias reduces and the
variance increases, and if we reduce complexity, the bias increases and the variance
reduces. Our goal is to find a point at which our model is complex enough to give low
In

bias but not so complex to end up having high variance.

55. What is RMSE?

RMSE stands for the root mean square error. It is a measure of accuracy in regression.
RMSE allows us to calculate the magnitude of error produced by a regression model.
The way RMSE is calculated is as follows:

Contact us: support@intellipaat.com / © Copyright Intellipaat / All rights reserved

Data Science Interview Questions

First, we calculate the errors in the predictions made by the regression model. For this,
we calculate the differences between the actual and the predicted values. Then, we
square the errors.

After this step, we calculate the mean of the squared errors, and finally, we take the
square root of the mean of these squared errors. This number is the RMSE and a model
with a lower value of RMSE is considered to produce lower errors, i.e., the model will be
more accurate.

t
56. What is a kernel function in SVM?

aa
In the SVM algorithm, a kernel function is a special mathematical function. In simple
terms, a kernel function takes data as input and converts it into a required form. This
transformation of the data is based on something called a kernel trick, which is what
lliP
gives the kernel function its name. Using the kernel function, we can transform the data
that is not linearly separable (cannot be separated using a straight line) into one that is
linearly separable.

57. How can we select an appropriate value of k in

k-means?
te

Selecting the correct value of k is an important aspect of k-means clustering. We can

make use of the elbow method to pick the appropriate k value. To do this, we run the
In

k-means algorithm on a range of values, e.g., 1 to 15. For each value of k, we compute
an average score. This score is also called inertia or the inter-cluster variance.

This is calculated as the sum of squares of the distances of all values in a cluster. As k
starts from a low value and goes up to a high value, we start seeing a sharp decrease in
the inertia value. After a certain value of k, in the range, the drop in the inertia value
becomes quite small. This is the value of k that we need to choose for the k-means
clustering algorithm.

Contact us: support@intellipaat.com / © Copyright Intellipaat / All rights reserved

Data Science Interview Questions

58. How can we deal with outliers?

Outliers can be dealt with in several ways. One way is to drop them. We can only drop
the outliers if they have values that are incorrect or extreme. For example, if a dataset
with the weights of babies has a value 98.6-degree Fahrenheit, then it is incorrect. Now,
if the value is 187 kg, then it is an extreme value, which is not useful for our model.

In case the outliers are not that extreme, then we can try:

t
aa
● A different kind of model. For example, if we were using a linear model, then
we can choose a non-linear model
● Normalizing the data, which will shift the extreme values closer to other data
points
● Using algorithms that are not so affected by outliers, such as random forest,
lliP
etc.

59. How to calculate the accuracy of a binary classification

algorithm using its confusion matrix?
te

In a binary classification algorithm, we have only two labels, which are True and False.
Before we can calculate the accuracy, we need to understand a few key terms:

● True positives: Number of observations correctly classified as True

In

● True negatives: Number of observations correctly classified as False

● False positives: Number of observations incorrectly classified as True
● False negatives: Number of observations incorrectly classified as False

To calculate the accuracy, we need to divide the sum of the correctly classified
observations by the number of total observations.

Contact us: support@intellipaat.com / © Copyright Intellipaat / All rights reserved

Data Science Interview Questions

60. What is ensemble learning?

When we are building models using Data Science and Machine Learning, our goal is to
get a model that can understand the underlying trends in the training data and can
make predictions or classifications with a high level of accuracy.

However, sometimes some datasets are very complex, and it is difficult for one model
to be able to grasp the underlying trends in these datasets. In such situations, we

t
combine several individual models together to improve performance. This is what is
called ensemble learning.

aa
61. Explain collaborative filtering in recommender systems.

Collaborative filtering is a technique used to build recommender systems. In this

lliP
technique, to generate recommendations, we make use of data about the likes and
dislikes of users similar to other users. This similarity is estimated based on several
varying factors, such as age, gender, locality, etc.

If User A, similar to User B, watched and liked a movie, then that movie will be
te

recommended to User B, and similarly, if User B watched and liked a movie, then that
would be recommended to User A.

In other words, the content of the movie does not matter much. When recommending
In

it to a user what matters is if other users similar to that particular user liked the content
of the movie or not.

Contact us: support@intellipaat.com / © Copyright Intellipaat / All rights reserved

Data Science Interview Questions

62. Explain content-based filtering in recommender

systems.

Content-based filtering is one of the techniques used to build recommender systems. In

this technique, recommendations are generated by making use of the properties of the
content that a user is interested in.

For example, if a user is watching movies belonging to the action and mystery genre

t
and giving them good ratings, it is a clear indication that the user likes movies of this

aa
kind. If shown movies of a similar genre as recommendations, there is a higher
probability that the user would like those recommendations as well.

In other words, here, the content of the movie is taken into consideration when
generating recommendations for users.
lliP
63. Explain bagging in Data Science.

Bagging is an ensemble learning method. It stands for bootstrap aggregating. In this

technique, we generate some data using the bootstrap method, in which we use an
te

already existing dataset and generate multiple samples of the N size. This bootstrapped
data is then used to train multiple models in parallel, which makes the bagging model
more robust than a simple model.
In

Once all the models are trained, then it’s time to make a prediction, we make
predictions using all the trained models and then average the result in the case of
regression, and for classification, we choose the result, generated by models, that have
the highest frequency.

Contact us: support@intellipaat.com / © Copyright Intellipaat / All rights reserved

Data Science Interview Questions

64. Explain boosting in data science.

Boosting is one of the ensemble learning methods. Unlike bagging, it is not a technique
used to parallelly train our models. In boosting, we create multiple models and
sequentially train them by combining weak models iteratively in a way that training a
new model depends on the models trained before it.

In doing so, we take the patterns learned by a previous model and test them on a

t
dataset when training the new model. In each iteration, we give more importance to
observations in the dataset that are incorrectly handled or predicted by previous

aa
models. Boosting is useful in reducing bias in models as well.

65. Explain stacking in data science.

lliP
Just like bagging and boosting, stacking is also an ensemble learning method. In
bagging and boosting, we could only combine weak models that used the same
learning algorithms, e.g., logistic regression. These models are called homogeneous
learners.
te

However, in stacking, we can combine weak models that use different learning
algorithms as well. These learners are called heterogeneous learners. Stacking works by
training multiple (and different) weak models or learners and then using them together
by training another model, called a meta-model, to make predictions based on the
In

multiple outputs of predictions returned by these multiple weak models.

66. Explain how machine learning is different from deep

learning.

A field of computer science, machine learning is a subfield of data science that deals
with using existing data to help systems automatically learn new skills to perform
different tasks without having rules to be explicitly programmed.

Contact us: support@intellipaat.com / © Copyright Intellipaat / All rights reserved

Data Science Interview Questions

Deep Learning, on the other hand, is a field in machine learning that deals with building
machine learning models using algorithms that try to imitate the process of how the
human brain learns from the information in a system for it to attain new capabilities. In
deep learning, we make heavy use of deeply connected neural networks with many
layers.

67. What does the word ‘Naive’ mean in Naive Bayes?

t
Naive Bayes is a data science algorithm. It has the word ‘Bayes’ in it because it is based
on the Bayes theorem, which deals with the probability of an event occurring given that

aa
another event has already occurred.

It has ‘naive’ in it because it makes the assumption that each variable in the dataset is
independent of the other. This kind of assumption is unrealistic for real-world data.
lliP
However, even with this assumption, it is very useful for solving a range of complicated
problems, e.g., spam email classification, etc.

To learn more about Data Science, check out our Data Science Course in Mumbai.

68. What is batch normalization?

te

One method for attempting to enhance the functionality and stability of the neural
network is batch normalization. To do this, normalize the inputs in each layer such that
In

the mean output activation stays at 0 and the standard deviation is set to 1.

69. What do you understand from cluster sampling and

systematic sampling?

Cluster sampling is also known as the probability sampling approach where you can
divide a population into groups, such as districts or schools, and then select a

Contact us: support@intellipaat.com / © Copyright Intellipaat / All rights reserved

Data Science Interview Questions

representative sample from among these groups at random. A modest representation

of the population as a whole should be present in each cluster.

A probability sampling strategy called systematic sampling involves picking people from
the population at regular intervals, such as every 15th person on a population list. The
population can be organized randomly to mimic the benefits of simple random
sampling.

70. What is the Computational Graph?

t
aa
A directed graph with variables or operations as nodes is a computational graph.
Variables can contribute to operations with their value, and operations can contribute
their output to other operations. In this manner, each node in the graph establishes a
function of the variables.
lliP
71. What is the difference between Batch and Stochastic
Gradient Descent?

The differences between Batch and Stochastic Gradient Descent are as follows:
te

Batch Stochastic Gradient Descent

In

Provides assistance in calculating the Helps in calculating the gradient

gradient utilizing the entire set of data. using only a single sample.

Takes time to converge. Takes less time to converge.

Contact us: support@intellipaat.com / © Copyright Intellipaat / All rights reserved

Data Science Interview Questions

The volume is substantial enough for The volume is lower for analysis
analysis. purposes.

Updates the weight infrequently. Updates the weight more

frequently.

72. What is an activation function?

t
aa
An activation function is a function that is incorporated into an artificial neural network
to aid in the network’s learning of complicated patterns in the input data. In contrast to
a neuron-based model seen in human brains, the activation function determines what
signals should be sent to the following neuron at the very end.
lliP
73. How Do You Build a random forest model?

The steps for creating a random forest model are as follows:

● Choose n from a dataset of k records.

te

● Create distinct decision trees for each of the n data values being taken into
account. From each of them, a projected result is obtained.
● Each of the findings is subjected to a voting mechanism.
● The final outcome is determined by whose prediction received the most
In

support.

74. Can you avoid overfitting your model? if yes, then how?

In actuality, data models may be overfitting. For it, the strategies listed below can be
applied:

Contact us: support@intellipaat.com / © Copyright Intellipaat / All rights reserved

Data Science Interview Questions

● Increase the amount of data in the dataset under study to make it simpler to
separate the links between the input and output variables.
● To discover important traits or parameters that need to be examined, use
feature selection.
● Use regularization strategies to lessen the variation of the outcomes a data
model generates.
● Rarely, datasets are stabilized by adding a little amount of noisy data. This
practice is called data augmentation.

t
75. What is Cross Validation?

aa
Cross-validation is a model validation method used to assess the generalizability of
statistical analysis results to other data sets. It is frequently applied when forecasting is
the main objective and one wants to gauge how well a model will work in real-world
applications.
lliP
In order to prevent overfitting and gather knowledge on how the model will generalize
to different data sets, cross-validation aims to establish a data set to test the model
during the training phase (i.e. validation data set).
te

76. What is variance in Data Science?

Variance is a type of error that occurs in a Data Science model when the model ends up
In

being too complex and learns features from data, along with the noise that exists in it.
This kind of error can occur if the algorithm used to train the model has high
complexity, even though the data and the underlying patterns and trends are quite
easy to discover. This makes the model a very sensitive one that performs well on the
training dataset but poorly on the testing dataset, and on any kind of data that the
model has not yet seen. Variance generally leads to poor accuracy in testing and results
in overfitting.

Contact us: support@intellipaat.com / © Copyright Intellipaat / All rights reserved

Data Science Interview Questions

77. What is pruning in a decision tree algorithm?

Pruning a decision tree is the process of removing the sections of the tree that are not
necessary or are redundant. Pruning leads to a smaller decision tree, which performs
better and gives higher accuracy and speed.

78. What is entropy in a decision tree algorithm?

t
In a decision tree algorithm, entropy is the measure of impurity or randomness. The

aa
entropy of a given dataset tells us how pure or impure the values of the dataset are. In
simple terms, it tells us about the variance in the dataset.

1. Entropy(D) = - p * log2(p) - (1 - p) * log2(1 - p)

2. where:
lliP
3. Entropy(D) represents the entropy of the dataset D
4. p represents the proportion of positive class instances in D
5. log2 represents the logarithm to the base 2.

For example, suppose we are given a box with 10 blue marbles. Then, the entropy of
te

the box is 0 as it contains marbles of the same color, i.e., there is no impurity. If we
need to draw a marble from the box, the probability of it being blue will be 1.0.
However, if we replace 4 of the blue marbles with 4 red marbles in the box, then the
entropy increases to 0.4 for drawing blue marbles.
In

Additionally, In a decision tree algorithm, multi-class entropy is a measure used to

evaluate the impurity or disorder of a dataset with respect to the class labels when
there are multiple classes involved. It is commonly used as a criterion to make decisions
about splitting nodes in a decision tree.

79. What information is gained in a decision tree

algorithm?

Contact us: support@intellipaat.com / © Copyright Intellipaat / All rights reserved

Data Science Interview Questions

When building a decision tree, at each step, we have to create a node that decides
which feature we should use to split data, i.e., which feature would best separate our
data so that we can make predictions. This decision is made using information gain,
which is a measure of how much entropy is reduced when a particular feature is used
to split the data. The feature that gives the highest information gain is the one that is
chosen to split the data.

Let’s consider a practical example to gain a better understanding of how information

gain operates within a decision tree algorithm. Imagine we have a dataset containing

t
customer information such as age, income, and purchase history. Our objective is to

aa
predict whether a customer will make a purchase or not.

To determine which attribute provides the most valuable information, we calculate the
information gain for each attribute. If splitting the data based on income leads to
subsets with significantly reduced entropy, it indicates that income plays a crucial role
lliP
in predicting purchase behavior. Consequently, income becomes a crucial factor in
constructing the decision tree as it offers valuable insights.

By maximizing information gain, the decision tree algorithm identifies attributes that
effectively reduce uncertainty and enable accurate splits. This process enhances the
model’s predictive accuracy, enabling informed decisions pertaining to customer
te

purchases.

Explore this Data Science Course in Delhi and master decision tree algorithm.
In

Data Science Interview Questions For Experienced

Contact us: support@intellipaat.com / © Copyright Intellipaat / All rights reserved

Data Science Interview Questions

80. From the below given ‘diamonds’ dataset, extract only

those rows where the ‘price’ value is greater than 1000 and
the ‘cut’ is ideal.

t
aa
lliP
First, we will load the ggplot2 package:
te

Next, we will use the dplyr package:

In

To extract those particular records, use the below command:

81. Make a scatter plot between ‘price’ and ‘carat’ using

ggplot. ‘Price’ should be on the y-axis, ’carat’ should be on

Contact us: support@intellipaat.com / © Copyright Intellipaat / All rights reserved

Data Science Interview Questions

the x-axis, and the ‘color’ of the points should be

determined by ‘cut.’

We will implement the scatter plot using ggplot.

The ggplot is based on the grammar of data visualization, and it helps us stack multiple
layers on top of each other.

t
So, we will start with the data layer, and on top of the data layer we will stack the

aa
aesthetic layer. Finally, on top of the aesthetic layer we will stack the geometry layer.

Code:
lliP
82. Introduce 25 percent missing values in this ‘iris’ dataset
and impute the ‘Sepal.Length’ column with ‘mean’ and the
‘Petal.Length’ column with ‘median.’
te
In

Contact us: support@intellipaat.com / © Copyright Intellipaat / All rights reserved

Data Science Interview Questions

To introduce missing values, we will be using the missForest package:

Using the prodNA function, we will be introducing 25 percent of missing values:

t
For inputing the ‘Sepal.Length’ column with ‘mean’ and the ‘Petal.Length’ column with

aa
‘median,’ we will be using the Hmisc package and the impute function:

lliP
83. Implement simple linear regression in R on this ‘mtcars’
dataset, where the dependent variable is ‘mpg’ and the
independent variable is ‘disp.’
te
In

Contact us: support@intellipaat.com / © Copyright Intellipaat / All rights reserved

Data Science Interview Questions

Here, we need to find how ‘mpg’ varies w.r.t displacement of the column.

We need to divide this data into the training dataset and the testing dataset so that the
model does not overfit the data.

So, what happens is when we do not divide the dataset into these two components, it
overfits the dataset. Hence, when we add new data, it fails miserably on that new data.

t
Therefore, to divide this dataset, we would require the caret package. This caret
package comprises the createdatapartition() function. This function will give the true or

aa
false labels.

Here, we will use the following code:

lliP
1. library(caret)
2. split_tag<-createDataPartition(mtcars$mpg, p=0.65, list=F)
3. mtcars&#91;split_tag,&#93;->train
4. mtcars[-split_tag,]->test
5. lm(mpg-data,data=train)->mod_mtcars
6. predict(mod_mtcars,newdata=test)->pred_mtcars
te

7. >head(pred_mtcars)

Explanation:
In

Parameters of the createDataPartition function: First is the column which determines

the split (it is the mpg column).

Second is the split ratio which is 0.65, i.e., 65 percent of records will have true labels
and 35 percent will have false labels. We will store this in a split_tag object.

Contact us: support@intellipaat.com / © Copyright Intellipaat / All rights reserved

Data Science Interview Questions

Once we have the split_tag object ready, from this entire mtcars dataframe, we will
select all those records where the split tag value is true and store those records in the
training set.

Similarly, from the mtcars dataframe, we will select all those record where the split_tag
value is false and store those records in the test set.

So, the split tag will have true values in it, and when we put ‘-’ symbol in front of it,
‘-split_tag’ will contain all of the false labels. We will select all those records and store

t
them in the test set.

aa
We will go ahead and build a model on top of the training set, and for the simple linear
model we will require the lm function.
lliP
Now, we have built the model on top of the train set. It’s time to predict the values on
top of the test set. For that, we will use the predict function that takes in two
parameters: first is the model which we have built and the second is the dataframe on
te

which we have to predict values.

Thus, we have to predict values for the test set and then store them in pred_mtcars.
In

Output:

These are the predicted values of mpg for all of these cars.

Contact us: support@intellipaat.com / © Copyright Intellipaat / All rights reserved

Data Science Interview Questions

t
aa
So, this is how we can build a simple linear model on top of this mtcars dataset.
lliP
84. Calculate the RMSE values for the model building.

When we build a regression model, it predicts certain y values associated with the given
x values, but there is always an error associated with this prediction. So, to get an
estimate of the average error in prediction, RMSE is used.
te

Code:
In

1. cbind(Actual=test$mpg, predicted=pred_mtcars)->final_data
2. as.data.frame(final_data)->final_data
3. error<-(final_data$Actual-final_data$Prediction)
4. cbind(final_data,error)->final_data
5. sqrt(mean(final_data$error)^2)

Contact us: support@intellipaat.com / © Copyright Intellipaat / All rights reserved

Data Science Interview Questions

Explanation: We have the actual and the predicted values. We will bind both of them
into a single data frame. For that, we will use the cbind function:

Our actual values are present in the mpg column from the test set, and our predicted
values are stored in the pred_mtcars object which we have created in the previous
question. Hence, we will create this new column and name the column actual. Similarly,
we will create another column and name it predicted which will have predicted values,

t
and then store the predicted values in the new object which is final_data. After that, we

aa
will convert a matrix into a dataframe. So, we will use the as.data.frame function and
convert this object (predicted values) into a dataframe:
lliP
We will pass this object which is final_data and store the result in final_data again. We
will then calculate the error in prediction for each of the records by subtracting the
predicted values from the actual values:
te

Then, store this result on a new object and name that object as error. After this, we will
bind this error calculated to the same final_data dataframe:
In

Here, we bind the error object to this final_data, and store this into final_data again.

Calculating RMSE:

Output:

Contact us: support@intellipaat.com / © Copyright Intellipaat / All rights reserved

Data Science Interview Questions

Note: Lower the value of RMSE, the better the model. R and Python are two of the most
important programming languages for Machine Learning Algorithms.

85. Implement simple linear regression in Python on this

‘Boston’ dataset where the dependent variable is ‘medv’
and the independent variable is ‘lstat.’

Simple Linear Regression

t
aa
1. import pandas as pd
2. data=pd.read_csv(‘Boston.csv’) //loading the Boston dataset
3. data.head() //having a glance at the head of this data
4. data.shape
lliP
Let us take out the dependent and the independent variables from the dataset:

1. data1=data.loc[:,[‘lstat’,’medv’]]
2. data1.head()
3. import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
te

4. data1.plot(x=’lstat’,y=’medv’,style=’o’)
5. plt.xlabel(‘lstat’)
6. plt.ylabel(‘medv’)
7. plt.show()
In

8. Visualizing Variables

Here, ‘medv’ is basically the median value of the price of the houses, and we are trying
to find out the median values of the price of the houses with respect to to the lstat
column.

We will separate the dependent and the independent variable from this entire
dataframe:

Contact us: support@intellipaat.com / © Copyright Intellipaat / All rights reserved

Data Science Interview Questions

The only columns we want from all of this record are ‘lstat’ and ‘medv,’ and we need to
store these results in data1.

Now, we would also do a visualization w.r.t to these two columns:

t
1. import matplotlib.pyplot as plt

aa
2. data1.plot(x=’lstat’,y=’medv’,style=’o’)
3. plt.xlabel(‘lstat’)
4. plt.ylabel(‘medv’)
5. plt.show()
lliP
Preparing the Data

1. X=pd.Dataframe(data1[‘lstat’])
2. Y=pd.Dataframe(data1[‘medv’])
3. from sklearn.model_selection import train_test_split
4. X_train, X_test, y_train, y_test = train_test_split(X, y, test_size=0.2,
te

random_state=100)
5. from sklearn.linear_model import LinearRegression
6. regressor=LinearRegression()
7. regressor.fit(X_train,y_train)
In

Output :

1. 34.12654201
2. print(regressor.coef_)//this is the slope

Contact us: support@intellipaat.com / © Copyright Intellipaat / All rights reserved

Data Science Interview Questions

Output :

By now, we have built the model. Now, we have to predict the values on top of the test
set:

t
aa
_pred=regressor.predict(X_test)//using the instance and the
1redict function and pass the X_test object inside the function
nd store this in the y_pred object
lliP
Now, let’s have a glance at the rows and columns of the actual values and the predicted
values:
te

Output :
In

Further, we will go ahead and calculate some metrics so that we can find out the Mean
Absolute Error, Mean Squared Error, and RMSE.

1. from sklearn import metrics import NumPy as np

2. print(‘Mean Absolute Error: ’, metrics.mean_absolute_error(y_test, y_pred))
3. print(‘Mean Squared Error: ’, metrics.mean_squared_error(y_test, y_pred))

Contact us: support@intellipaat.com / © Copyright Intellipaat / All rights reserved

Data Science Interview Questions

4. print(‘Root Mean Squared Error: ’, np.sqrt(metrics.mean_absolute_error(y_test,

y_pred))

Output:

1. Mean Absolute Error: 4.692198

2. Mean Squared Error: 43.9198
3. Root Mean Squared Error: 6.6270

t
aa
lliP
86. Implement logistic regression on this ‘heart’ dataset in
R where the dependent variable is ‘target’ and the
independent variable is ‘age.’
te
In

Contact us: support@intellipaat.com / © Copyright Intellipaat / All rights reserved

Data Science Interview Questions

For loading the dataset, we will use the read.csv function:

In the structure of
this dataframe, most of the values are integers. However, since we are building a
logistic regression model on top of this dataset, the final target column is supposed to
be categorical. It cannot be an integer. So, we will go ahead and convert them into a
factor.
Thus, we will use the as.factor function and convert these integer values into categorical
data.

t
We will pass on heart$target column over here and store the result in heart$target as

aa
follows:
lliP
Now, we will build a logistic regression model and see the different probability values
for the person to have heart disease on the basis of different age values.

To build a logistic regression model, we will use the glm function:

te

Here, target~age indicates that the target is the dependent variable and the age is the
independent variable, and we are building this model on top of the dataframe.
In

family=”binomial” means we are basically telling R that this is the logistic regression
model, and we will store the result in log_mod1.

Contact us: support@intellipaat.com / © Copyright Intellipaat / All rights reserved

Data Science Interview Questions

We will have a glance at the summary of the model that we have just built:

t
aa
lliP
We can see Pr value here, and there are three stars associated with this Pr value. This
basically means that we can reject the null hypothesis which states that there is no
relationship between the age and the target columns. But since we have three stars
te

over here, this null hypothesis can be rejected. There is a strong relationship between
the age column and the target column.

Now, we have other parameters like null deviance and residual deviance. Lower the
In

deviance value, the better the model.

This null deviance basically tells the deviance of the model, i.e., when we don’t have any
independent variable and we are trying to predict the value of the target column with
only the intercept. When that’s the case, the null deviance is 417.64.

Residual deviance is wherein we include the independent variables and try to predict
the target columns. Hence, when we include the independent variable which is age, we

Contact us: support@intellipaat.com / © Copyright Intellipaat / All rights reserved

Data Science Interview Questions

see that the residual deviance drops. Initially, when there are no independent variables,
the null deviance was 417. After we include the age column, we see that the null
deviance is reduced to 401.

This basically means that there is a strong relationship between the age column and the
target column and that is why the deviance is reduced.

As we have built the model, it’s time to predict some values:

t
1. predict(log_mod1, data.frame(age=30), type=”response”)

aa
2. predict(log_mod1, data.frame(age=50), type=”response”)
3. predict(log_mod1, data.frame(age=29:77), type=”response”)

Now, we will divide this dataset into train and test sets and build a model on top of the
lliP
train set and predict the values on top of the test set:

1. &gt;library(caret)
2. Split_tag&lt;- createDataPartition(heart$target, p=0.70, list=F)
heart[split_tag,]-&gt;train
3. heart[-split_tag,]-&gt;test
4. glm(target~age, data=train,family=”binomial”)-&gt;log_mod2
te

5. predict(log_mod2, newdata=test, type=”response”)-&gt;pred_heart

6. range(pred_heart)

87. Build a ROC curve for the model built

In

The below code will help us in building the ROC curve:

1. library(ROCR)
2. prediction(pred_heart, test$target)-> roc_pred_heart
3. performance(roc_pred_heart, “tpr”, “fpr”)->roc_curve
4. plot(roc_curve, colorize=T)

Contact us: support@intellipaat.com / © Copyright Intellipaat / All rights reserved

Data Science Interview Questions

Graph:

t
aa
Go through this Data Science Course in Pune to get a clear understanding of Data Science!
lliP
88. Build a confusion matrix for the model where the
threshold value for the probability of predicted values is
0.6, and also find the accuracy of the model.
te

Accuracy is calculated as:

In

Accuracy = (True positives + true negatives)/(True positives+ true negatives + false

positives + false negatives)

To build a confusion matrix in R, we will use the table function:

Contact us: support@intellipaat.com / © Copyright Intellipaat / All rights reserved

Data Science Interview Questions

Here, we are setting the probability threshold as 0.6. So, wherever the probability of
pred_heart is greater than 0.6, it will be classified as 0, and wherever it is less than 0.6 it
will be classified as 1.

Then, we calculate the accuracy by the formula for calculating Accuracy.

t
aa
lliP
89. Build a logistic regression model on the
te

‘customer_churn’ dataset in Python. The dependent

variable is ‘Churn’ and the independent variable is
In

‘MonthlyCharges.’ Find the log_loss of the model.

Contact us: support@intellipaat.com / © Copyright Intellipaat / All rights reserved

Data Science Interview Questions

First, we will load the pandas dataframe and the customer_churn.csv file:

t
aa
After loading this dataset, we can have a glance at the head of the dataset by using the
following command:
lliP
Now, we will separate the dependent and the independent variables into two separate
objects:
te

1. x=pd.Dataframe(customer_churn[‘MonthlyCharges’])
2. y=customer_churn[‘ Churn’]
3. #Splitting the data into training and testing sets
4. from sklearn.model_selection import train_test_split
In

5. x_train, x_test, y_train, y_test=train_test_split(x,y,test_size=0.3, random_state=0)

Now, we will see how to build the model and calculate log_loss.

1. from sklearn.linear_model, we have to import LogisticRegression

2. l=LogisticRegression()
3. l.fit(x_train,y_train)
4. y_pred=l.predict_proba(x_test)

Contact us: support@intellipaat.com / © Copyright Intellipaat / All rights reserved

Data Science Interview Questions

As we are supposed to calculate the log_loss, we will import it from sklearn.metrics:

1. from sklearn.metrics import log_loss

2. print(log_loss(y_test,y_pred)//actual values are in y_test and predicted are in
y_pred

Output:

t
aa
1.0.5555020595194167

Become a master of Data Science by going through this online Data Science Course in
Gurgaon!
lliP
90. Build a decision tree model on ‘Iris’ dataset where the
dependent variable is ‘Species,’ and all other columns are
independent variables. Find the accuracy of the model
built.
te
In

Contact us: support@intellipaat.com / © Copyright Intellipaat / All rights reserved

Data Science Interview Questions

To build a decision tree model, we will be loading the party package:

1. #party package
2. library(party)
3. #splitting the data
4. library(caret)
5. split_tag<-createDataPartition(iris$Species, p=0.65, list=F)
6. iris&#91;split_tag,&#93;->train
7. iris[~split_tag,]->test

t
8. #building model

aa
9. mytree<-ctree(Species~.,train)&#91;/code&#93;
10. Now we will plot the model
11. &#91;code language="javascript"&#93;plot(mytree)&#91;/code&#93;
12. <strong>Model:</strong>
13.<img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-204079"
lliP
src="https://intellipaat.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Graphics-06.jpg
" alt="Data Science Interview Questions and Answers - Intellipaat" width="800"
height="380" />
14.[code language="javascript"]#predicting the values
15.predict(mytree,test,type=’response’)->mypred
te

After this, we will predict the confusion matrix and then calculate the accuracy using the
In

table function:

Contact us: support@intellipaat.com / © Copyright Intellipaat / All rights reserved

Data Science Interview Questions

t
aa
lliP
91. Build a random forest model on top of this ‘CTG’
dataset, where ‘NSP’ is the dependent variable and all
other columns are independent variables.
te
In

Contact us: support@intellipaat.com / © Copyright Intellipaat / All rights reserved

Data Science Interview Questions

We will load the CTG dataset by using read.csv:

1. data<read.csv(“C:/Users/intellipaat/Downloads/CTG.csv”,header=True)
2. str(data)&#91;/code&#93;
3. Converting the integer type to a factor
4. &#91;code language="javascript"&#93;data$NSP<-as.factor(data$NSP)
5. table(data$NSP)
6. #data partition
7. set.seed(123)

t
8. split_tag<-createDataPartition(data$NSP, p=0.65, list=F)

aa
9. data&#91;split_tag,&#93;->train
10.data[~split_tag,]->test
11.#random forest -1
12.library(randomForest)
13.set.seed(222)
lliP
14.rf-<-randomForest(NSP~.,data=train)
15.rf
16.#prediction
17.predict(rf,test)->p1
te

Building confusion matrix and calculating accuracy:

In

Contact us: support@intellipaat.com / © Copyright Intellipaat / All rights reserved

Data Science Interview Questions

t
aa
lliP
If you have any doubts or queries related to Data Science, get them clarified from Data
Science experts on our Data Science Community!

92. Write a function to calculate the Euclidean distance

between two points.
te

The formula for calculating the Euclidean distance between two points (x1, y1) and (x2,
y2) is as follows:
In

Code for calculating the Euclidean distance is as given below:

93.

Contact us: support@intellipaat.com / © Copyright Intellipaat / All rights reserved

Data Science Interview Questions

Write code to calculate the root mean square error (RMSE)

given the lists of values as actual and predicted.

To calculate the root mean square error (RMSE), we have to:

1. Calculate the errors, i.e., the differences between the actual and the
predicted values
2. Square each of these errors

t
3. Calculate the mean of these squared errors

aa
4. Return the square root of the mean

The code in Python for calculating RMSE is given below:

1. def rmse(actual, predicted):

lliP
2. errors = [abs(actual[i] - predicted[i]) for i in range(0, len(actual))]
3. squared_errors = [x ** 2 for x in errors]
4. mean = sum(squared_errors) / len(squared_errors)
5. return mean ** .5
te

Check out this Machine Learning Course to get an in-depth understanding of Machine
Learning.

94. Mention the different kernel functions that can be used

In

in SVM.

In SVM, there are four types of kernel functions:

● Linear kernel
In SVM (Support Vector Machines), a linear kernel is a type of kernel function
used to transform input data into a higher-dimensional feature space. It is

Contact us: support@intellipaat.com / © Copyright Intellipaat / All rights reserved

Data Science Interview Questions

represented by the equation K(x, y) = x • y, where x and y are feature vectors.

The linear kernel calculates the dot product between the two vectors to
measure their similarity or dissimilarity.
● Polynomial kernel
A polynomial kernel is a type of kernel function used to transform input data
into a higher-dimensional feature space. It is represented by the equation
K(x, y) = (x • y + c)^d, where x and y are feature vectors, c is a constant, and d
is the degree of the polynomial. The polynomial kernel captures nonlinear
relationships between data points by raising the dot product to a specified

t
power.

aa
● Radial basis kernel
In SVM (Support Vector Machines), a radial basis kernel, also known as the
Gaussian kernel, is a popular kernel function used for non-linear
classification. It is represented by the equation K(x, y) = exp(-gamma * ||x –
y||^2), where x and y are feature vectors, and gamma is a parameter that
lliP
determines the influence of each training example. The radial basis kernel
measures the similarity between data points based on their Euclidean
distance in the feature space.
● Sigmoid kernel
The sigmoid kernel is a type of non-linear kernel function commonly
employed for classification tasks. It can be mathematically described by the
te

equation K(x, y) = tanh(alpha * x * y + c), where x and y represent feature

vectors, and alpha and c are parameters determining the sigmoid function’s
shape. By utilizing the sigmoid kernel, Support Vector Machines (SVMs) can
project data onto a higher-dimensional space, enabling the creation of
In

non-linear decision boundaries for accurate classification.

95. How to detect if the time series data is stationary?

Time series data is considered stationary when variance or mean is constant with time.
If the variance or mean does not change over a period of time in the dataset, then we
can draw the conclusion that, for that period, the data is stationary.

Contact us: support@intellipaat.com / © Copyright Intellipaat / All rights reserved

Data Science Interview Questions

96. Write code to calculate the accuracy of a binary

classification algorithm using its confusion matrix.

We can use the code given below to calculate the accuracy of a binary classification
algorithm:

t
aa
97. What does root cause analysis mean?

Root cause analysis is the process of figuring out the root causes that lead to certain
lliP
faults or failures. A factor is considered to be a root cause if, after eliminating it, a
sequence of operations, leading to a fault, error, or undesirable result, ends up working
correctly. Root cause analysis is a technique that was initially developed and used in the
analysis of industrial accidents, but now, it is used in a wide variety of areas.
te

98. What is A/B testing?

A/B testing is a kind of statistical hypothesis testing for randomized experiments with
In

two variables. These variables are represented as A and B. A/B testing is used when we
wish to test a new feature in a product. In the A/B test, we give users two variants of the
product, and we label these variants as A and B.

The A variant can be the product with the new feature added, and the B variant can be
the product without the new feature. After users use these two products, we capture
their ratings for the product.

Contact us: support@intellipaat.com / © Copyright Intellipaat / All rights reserved

Data Science Interview Questions

If the rating of product variant A is statistically and significantly higher, then the new
feature is considered an improvement and useful and is accepted. Otherwise, the new
feature is removed from the product.

Check out this Python Course to get deeper into Python programming.

99. Out of collaborative filtering and content-based

filtering, which one is considered better, and why?

t
aa
Content-based filtering is considered to be better than collaborative filtering for
generating recommendations. It does not mean that collaborative filtering generates
bad recommendations.

However, as collaborative filtering is based on the likes and dislikes of other users we
lliP
cannot rely on it much. Also, users’ likes and dislikes may change in the future.

For example, there may be a movie that a user likes right now but did not like 10 years
ago. Moreover, users who are similar in some features may not have the same taste in
the kind of content that the platform provides.
te

In the case of content-based filtering, we make use of users’ own likes and dislikes
which are much more reliable and yield more positive results. This is why platforms
such as Netflix, Amazon Prime, Spotify, etc. make use of content-based filtering for
In

generating recommendations for their users.

100. In the following confusion matrix, calculate precision

and recall.

Total = 510 Actual

Contact us: support@intellipaat.com / © Copyright Intellipaat / All rights reserved

Data Science Interview Questions

Predicted P N

P 156 11

N 16 327

The formulae for precision and recall are given below.

t
aa
lliP
101. Write a function that when called with a confusion
matrix for a binary classification model returns a
dictionary with its precision and recall.
te

We can use the below for this purpose:

In

102. What is reinforcement learning?

Reinforcement learning is a kind of Machine Learning, which is concerned with building

software agents that perform actions to attain the most cumulative rewards.

Contact us: support@intellipaat.com / © Copyright Intellipaat / All rights reserved

Data Science Interview Questions

A reward here is used for letting the model know (during training) if a particular action
leads to the attainment of or brings it closer to the goal. For example, if we are creating
an ML model that plays a video game, the reward is going to be either the points
collected during the play or the level reached in it.

Reinforcement learning is used to build these kinds of agents that can make real-world
decisions that should move the model toward the attainment of a clearly defined goal.

103. Explain TF/IDF vectorization.

t
aa
The expression ‘TF/IDF’ stands for the Term Frequency–Inverse Document Frequency. It
is a numerical measure that allows us to determine how important a word is to a
document in a collection of documents called a corpus. TF/IDF is used often in text
mining and information retrieval.
lliP
104. What are the assumptions required for linear
regression?

There are several assumptions required for linear regression. They are as follows:
te

● The data, which is a sample drawn from a population, used to train the
model should be representative of the population.
● The relationship between independent variables and the mean of dependent
In

variables is linear.
● The variance of the residual is going to be the same for any value of an
independent variable. It is also represented as X.
● Each observation is independent of all other observations.
● For any value of an independent variable, the independent variable is
normally distributed.

Contact us: support@intellipaat.com / © Copyright Intellipaat / All rights reserved

Data Science Interview Questions

105. What happens when some of the assumptions

required for linear regression are violated?

These assumptions may be violated lightly (i.e., some minor violations) or strongly (i.e.,
the majority of the data has violations). Both of these violations will have different
effects on a linear regression model.

Strong violations of these assumptions make the results entirely redundant. Light

t
violations of these assumptions make the results have greater bias or variance.

aa
106. How to deal with unbalanced binary classification?

Given below are the following points that will teach you to deal with unbalanced binary
lliP
classification:

● Use other formulas to determine the model’s performance, such as

precision/recall, F1 score, etc.
● Re-sample the data using strategies such as undersampling (decreasing the
sample size of the bigger class), oversampling (raising the sample size of the
te

smaller class using repetition, SMOTE, and other similar strategies), and so
on.
● K-fold cross-validation is used
● Use ensemble learning such that each decision tree only takes into account a
In

portion of the bigger class and the complete sample of the smaller class.

107. Which cross-validation method would you use for a

batch of time series data?

Instead of utilizing k-fold cross-validation, you should be aware that a time series is
fundamentally organized by chronological order and is not made up of randomly

Contact us: support@intellipaat.com / © Copyright Intellipaat / All rights reserved

Data Science Interview Questions

dispersed data. Use approaches like forward-chaining, where you model on previous
data and then look at forward-facing data, when dealing with time series data.

108. How can time-series data be declared as stationery?

The time series is considered stationary when its essential constituents don’t change
over time. These variables might be variance or mean. Static time series exhibit no
trends nor seasonal impacts. Data from stationary time series are required for data

t
science models.

aa
109. Difference between Point Estimates and Confidence
Interval.
lliP
Point Estimates: A specific number known as the point estimate provides an estimate of
the population parameter. The Maximum Likelihood estimator and the Method of
Moments are two common techniques used to produce Population Parameter Point,
estimators.

Confidence Interval: The confidence interval provides a range of values that most likely
te

contain the population parameter. It even reveals the likelihood that the population
parameter may be found in that specific period. The likelihood or similarity is
represented by the Confidence Coefficient (or Confidence level), which is indicated by
1-alpha. The significance level is indicated by alpha.
In

110. Define the terms KPI, lift, model fitting, robustness,

and DOE.

● KPI: KPI stands for Key Performance Indicator, which evaluates how
successfully a company accomplishes its goals.

Contact us: support@intellipaat.com / © Copyright Intellipaat / All rights reserved

Data Science Interview Questions

● Lift: Lift is a performance indicator for the target model compared to a

random selection model. Lift measures how well the model predicts in
comparison to no model.
● Model fitting: This describes how well the proposed model conforms to the
available data.
● Robustness: This refers to how well the system can manage variations and
changes.
● DOE: DOE refers to the task design with the goal of describing and explaining
information variance under postulated circumstances to reflect variables.

t
aa
111. What are LLMs?

Large Language Models, abbreviated as LLMs, are sophisticated artificial intelligence

models designed to process and generate text that resembles human language based
on the input they receive. They employ advanced techniques like deep learning,
lliP
particularly neural networks, to comprehend and produce language patterns, enabling
them to answer questions, engage in conversations, and provide information on a
broad array of topics.

LLMs undergo training using extensive sets of textual data from diverse sources,
te

including books, websites, and other text-based materials. Through this training, they
acquire the ability to recognize patterns, comprehend context, and generate coherent
and contextually appropriate responses.
In

Notable examples of LLMs, such as ChatGPT based on the GPT-3.5 architecture, have
been trained on comprehensive and varied datasets to offer accurate and valuable
information across different domains. These models possess natural language
understanding capabilities and can undertake various tasks such as language
translation, content generation, and text completion.

Contact us: support@intellipaat.com / © Copyright Intellipaat / All rights reserved

Data Science Interview Questions

Their versatility allows them to assist users in diverse inquiries and tasks, making them
valuable tools across numerous fields, including education, customer service, content
creation, and research.

112. What is a Transformer in Machine Learning?

Within the realm of machine learning, the term “Transformer” denotes a neural
network architecture that has garnered significant acclaim, primarily in the domain of

t
natural language processing (NLP) tasks. Its introduction occurred in the seminal
research paper titled “Attention Is All You Need,” authored by Vaswani et al. in 2017.

aa
Since then, the Transformer has emerged as a fundamental framework in numerous
applications within the NLP domain.

The Transformer architecture is purposefully designed to overcome the limitations

lliP
encountered by conventional recurrent neural networks (RNNs) when confronted with
sequential data, such as sentences or documents. Unlike RNNs, Transformers do not
rely on sequential processing and possess the ability to parallelize computations,
thereby facilitating enhanced efficiency and scalability.
te

Data Scientist Salary Based on Experience

The average salary for a Data Scientist is ₹15,00,000 per year in India and $1,56,828 per
In

year in the United States. The average additional cash compensation for a data scientist
in India is ₹2,00,000, with a range from ₹1,00,000 to ₹3,00,000, while in the USA it is
$27,309, with a range from $20,482 to $38,233.

Job Role Experience Salary Range

Contact us: support@intellipaat.com / © Copyright Intellipaat / All rights reserved

Data Science Interview Questions

Data Scientist 0 – 2 years ₹07L – ₹20L /yr

Senior Data Scientist 2 – 4 years ₹17L – ₹30L /yr

Lead Data Scientist 5 – 7 years ₹20L – ₹35L /yr

t
Principal Data Scientist 8+ years ₹25L – ₹55L /yr

aa
Data Science Trends in 2024
lliP
1. Global Demand: According to LinkedIn, there are a total of 150K data
scientist jobs in the United States.
2. Projected Growth: As per the report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics,
employment for data scientists will increase by 36% between 2021 and 2031,
which is significantly higher than the average growth rate of other
occupations.
te

3. Regional Trends: According to LinkedIn, there are more than 110K data
scientist jobs in India.
In

Job Opportunities in Data Science

Multiple job roles in the Industry require data science. Here are a few of them:

Job Role Description

Contact us: support@intellipaat.com / © Copyright Intellipaat / All rights reserved

Data Science Interview Questions

Data Analyst They are responsible for performing Exploratory Data Analysis,
Identifying the features, and bringing out some meaningful
inferences.

Data Scientist They are responsible for analyzing the data, building and
implementing machine learning models and algorithms up to
deploying the model on the public cloud.

t
Data Engineer They are responsible for fetching the data from the sources

aa
and transforming the data in such a way that it can be used by
data analysts or data scientists.

Business They specifically look into analyzing the dataset and

Intelligence representing the insights in some BI tools like PowerBI or
lliP
Analyst Tableau.

Data Architect They are responsible for architecting the model for the
problem statement. They mostly take care of designing and
implementing the machine learning models.
te

Roles and Responsibilities of Data Scientists

In

1. As a Data Scientist, you will be taking care of an end-to-end data pipeline.

This includes fetching data from the source, data cleaning, data storage, data
analysis, and making machine models to deploy on any of the public clouds
like AWS, Azure, or GCP.

According to a job description posted by Microsoft on their career portal:

Contact us: support@intellipaat.com / © Copyright Intellipaat / All rights reserved

Data Science Interview Questions

Job Role: Data Scientist

Responsibilities:

● Working with large, complex data sets and solving difficult analysis problems
with advanced data science methods.
● Develop scalable ML models with statistical and mathematical frameworks
and strong analytics for common problems in Ads Space.
● Develop standard methodologies and documentation for the ML models.

t
aa
Technical Skills:

● Strong Knowledge of different Machine Learning algorithms with proper

statistical tests to evaluate and compare the performance of different
lliP
models.
● Excellent communication to be able to communicate insights to senior
leaders, stakeholders, and executives.
● Experience in at least one of the programming languages, like
Python/R/MATLAB/C#/Java/C++
te

Conclusion
In

I hope this set of Data Science Interview Questions will help you in preparing for your
interviews. Best of luck!

Looking to start your career or even elevate your skills in the field of data science you
can enroll in our comprehensive Data Science course or enroll in the Executive Post
Graduate Certification in Data Science & AI in collaboration with Microsoft with
Intellipaat and get certified today.

Contact us: support@intellipaat.com / © Copyright Intellipaat / All rights reserved

Data Science Interview Questions

If you want to deep dive into more Data Science interview questions, feel free to join
Intellipaat’s vibrant Data Science Community and get answers to your queries from
like-minded enthusiasts.

t
aa
lliP
te
In

Contact us: support@intellipaat.com / © Copyright Intellipaat / All rights reserved