Data analysis is the process of examining, cleaning, transforming and modelling data to uncover meaningful insights and inform decision-making, using statistical methods and tools to identify patterns and trends.
Purpose
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To extract valuable knowledge and insights from data, enabling informed decisions in business, science and the social sciences.
The Process
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Data Collection: Gathering structured and unstructured data from various sources.
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Data Cleaning: Fixing inconsistencies, errors and missing values to ensure data quality.
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Data Transformation: Converting data into a usable format, such as through standardisation or normalisation.
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Data Modelling: Applying statistical or machine-learning techniques to identify patterns and relationships.
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Interpretation: Drawing conclusions from the results to support decision-making.