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Data mining vs Web scraping

Posted on: October 14, 2023

Data mining and data scraping are two distinct techniques used to gather and analyze data from various sources

Data mining and data scraping are two distinct techniques used to gather and analyze data from various sources, but they serve different purposes and have different methodologies.

Here is difference between web scraping and data mining:

Data Mining:

  1. Purpose: Data mining is the process of discovering patterns, relationships, and insights within a large dataset. It is typically used to extract valuable information and knowledge from data for decision-making and predictive analysis.
  2. Methodology: Data mining involves complex algorithms and statistical techniques to analyze structured data, such as databases and data warehouses. Common methods include clustering, classification, regression, and association rule mining.
  3. Data Source: Data mining is typically applied to structured and organized datasets that have already been collected and stored.
Data Scraping (Web Scraping):

  1. Purpose: Data scraping, also known as web scraping, is the process of extracting data from websites or web pages. The primary purpose is to gather specific information from the web, such as product prices, news articles, or contact details.
  2. Methodology: Data scraping involves automated tools or scripts that navigate web pages and extract data based on predefined rules or patterns. This data is often unstructured or semi-structured and may require further processing.
  3. Data Source: Data scraping is primarily used for unstructured or semi-structured data found on websites. It can be used to collect data for various purposes, including research, analysis, or creating datasets for machine learning.
Key Differences:

  • Purpose: Data mining focuses on analyzing and discovering insights within existing datasets, while data scraping is about collecting data from the web or other sources for various purposes.
  • Methodology: Data mining uses algorithms and statistical techniques to analyze structured data, whereas data scraping involves web crawling and automated extraction from websites.
  • Data Source: Data mining works with structured data within databases, while data scraping deals with unstructured or semi-structured data on the web.
It's important to note that data scraping may have legal and ethical considerations, as not all websites permit the extraction of their data. Data mining, on the other hand, typically deals with data that you have lawful access to.

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