To perform a data analysis, your first step should be to identify the question you wish to answer by analyzing the data. Once you have determined what you hope to learn through your work, it is next a good idea to begin organizing your data in a way that makes sense. Analysts tend to use spreadsheets, graphs, and charts to look at their data from a number of different perspectives. As you are organizing your data, you also may want to begin thinking about ways in which you could categorize and define the different variables of your study. Most analysts conclude this process by creating a report in which they describe their methodology and explain their results.
Data analysis is the process by which an analyst evaluates information. In most cases, data is pulled from a number of different sources, and an analyst organizes and studies data so that he or she can provide a client with an evaluation that a business can use to make informed decisions. For example, if a client is interested in learning about how he or she should market a product, an analyst might study sales and advertising trends in a number of different regions and generate a report based on these findings.
A common first step in analyzing data is to determine what a client wishes to know. For this reason, an analyst might begin by meeting with clients to find out how best to approach a project. In most cases, a client hires a research firm that is responsible for gathering data through methods such as data mining and intelligence.
Once an analyst has learned how he or she should approach data, a next step is to begin organizing data in a way that makes sense. Professionals in this field commonly use spread sheets and graphs. At this point, an analyst might begin searching for patterns among the data.
Defining data is an important part of data analysis. For example, if a client wants to know how best to sell a product in a particular region, an analyst can define a number of different variables. He or she might choose to look at data based on income levels of potential customer bases, how much they spend on similar items, and stores at which they shop.
In most cases, the analysis is complete when a professional comes to a conclusion and generates a report. This is a document in which an analyst might explain his or her conclusion and describe which methods were used to come to that conclusion. An analyst might them submit this report to a client business.