Top Data Science and Machine Learning Methods Used

The average respondent used 7.7 tools/methods, similar to 2016 poll. Next, we compared the top 16 methods in this year's poll with their share last year - see Figure 1. We note a significant increase in Random Forests, Visualization, and Deep Learning share of usage, and decline in K-nn, PCA, and Boosting. Gradient Boosting Machines was a new entry in 2017. Deep Learning, despite its amazing successes, is reported used by only about 20% of KDnuggets readers.