This is part of a series on Strategic Data Analytics.
Strategic data analysis (Part 1)
Strategic data analysis for descriptive questions (Part 2) ← You are here
Strategic Data Analysis for Diagnostic Questions (Part 3) ← Coming soon!
Strategic Data Analysis for Predictive Questions (Part 4) ← Coming soon!
Strategic Data Analysis for Prescriptive Questions (Part 5) ← Coming soon!
In Part 1, I talked about the four types of questions that data analysts try to answer and ways to identify each type of question. If you remember, when we ask descriptive questions, we are trying to gain an understanding of something. These questions generally begin with “what/is/does” and belong to the current or past tense. Now, let’s dive into the details of the strategy on how to answer these questions.
Descriptive questions often arise. hills for data analysts and their answers tend to provide a basis for follow-up questions. Typically, experienced analysts already have a strategy (or at least some guidelines) that they use to answer descriptive questions. A more specific strategy differs depending on the question, industry, personal preferences and knowledge, etc. However, the skeleton of any strategy must include the following:
- Evaluate the intent of the question
- Identify the variables in question
- Define the analytical objective of the question.
These steps should guide you in choosing the best methodology and provide the most appropriate answer. Let’s take a deeper look.
Step 1: Evaluate the intent of the question
Before applying any technique to answer the question posed by the decision maker, we must first understand why the question is being asked. This can significantly influence our strategy and the final approach we choose. Some of the considerations within the intent include: