2012年10月《哈佛商業評論》（Harvard Business Review）將能透過電腦演算分析資料、解讀意義的資料科學家（data scientist）稱為「21世紀最性感的工作」（Data Scientist: The Sexiest Job of the 21st Century），這是因應大數據(Big Data)、或巨量資料潮流所造就的新職種中，最具代表性的。
《哈佛商業評論》曾為資料科學家下了一個定義：「資料科學家是懂得從今日如海嘯般非結構化資訊中，撈出重要商業問題解答的一群人。」事實上，資料科學家不只是要像哥倫布般，在茫茫大海中打開探照燈，找出有用的資料，還要如偵探小說家愛倫坡一樣，審視手上的資料，推理出問題的答案。
緣此，本課程旨在帶領公共事務碩士在職專班學生進入大數據、問題解決與決策分析的理論與實務殿堂，提供學生一場域，藉由R程式語言為工具、以議題為導向、結合跨領域專長的專題形式，學習有關大數據資料科學與循證(evidence-based)公共決策結合的基礎概念、與相關技術等，也為同學將來成為資料科學家做準備。課程內容主題包括：政府開放資料（Open Data）、大數據與資料分析（Big Data Analysis）、R語言、文字資料探勘與SAS Enterprise Miner、以及互動式資料視覺化Tableau等軟體的應用。

In October 2012, Harvard Business Review named data scientists who can analyze data and interpret meaning through computer calculations as "Data Scientist: The Sexiest Job of the 21st Century." This is the most representative of the new job types created in response to the trend of Big Data or huge amounts of data.
"Harvard Business Review" once defined a data scientist: "Data scientists are a group of people who know how to fish out answers to important business questions from today's tsunami of unstructured information." In fact, data scientists not only have to turn on searchlights in the vast sea to find useful information like Columbus, but also like detective novelist Edgar Allan Poe, examine the data at hand and deduce answers to questions.
For this reason, this course aims to lead in-service Master of Public Affairs students into the theoretical and practical realm of big data, problem solving and decision analysis. It provides students with a field where they can learn basic concepts and related technologies related to the integration of big data data science and evidence-based public decision-making using R programming language as a tool, topic-oriented, and cross-field expertise. It also prepares students to become data scientists in the future. Course content topics include: government open data (Open Data), big data and data analysis (Big Data Analysis), R language, text data exploration and SAS Enterprise Miner, as well as the application of interactive data visualization software such as Tableau.

1. R語言：邁向Big Data之路。作者：洪錦魁，蔡桂宏。出版社：上奇資訊。出版日期：2015。
2. 中、英文書籍與期刊論文。

1. R language: the road to Big Data. Authors: Hong Jinkui, Cai Guihong. Publisher: Shangqi Information. Publication date: 2015.
2. Chinese and English books and journal articles.