The use and application of data mining and big data increasingly take center stage in our modern, data-saturated society, due to explosions in automated data collection, advances in computing power, online and social media development, and interactive/linkable software.  This book provides a coherent, technical introduction to the statistical analytics needed to support decision- and policy-making based on these amassing data.  It prepares students and interested practitioners to explore and analyze large databases in a variety of application areas, including business & finance, public health, engineering, environmental & climate science, astronomy & astrophysics, and many others.  Each featured method is illustrated with real-world examples, and links are provided to open-source R computer code for implementation of the methodology. The text features extensive exercises, making it suitable for use as a course sourcebook.