Analyzing data entails a series of procedures that must be carried out in order to get

useful insights from the information at hand. It's obvious that you need to single out the most

crucial steps of the data analysis process. However, each stage is crucial to achieving accurate

data analysis and useful, actionable insights. (Wade, 2017a) Let's break down a data analysis

process flow into its five main components.

Step 1: Define why you need data analysis

A company has to establish its need for a well-founded procedure in data analysis

before going into the weeds of the task. The first thing you should do when starting a data

analysis project is to figure out what you want to learn. For example, this need may arise

from the question, "How can we lower manufacturing costs without losing quality?"

Is there anything we can do with our present tools to improve our sales prospects?

How do potential buyers feel about our company?

Identifying a goal is important, but so is deciding which metrics to monitor as you go.

When it's time to gather data, you should also be able to identify where it came from.

Creating a road plan can help your data team be well-prepared for the many phases

that lie ahead.

Step 2: Collect data

Once an objective has been established, data collection may begin. The depth of the

study depends on the quality of the data sources used, therefore this is a crucial first step.

Primary sources, often called internal sources, are the first point of contact while gathering

information. Most often, this is organized information amassed via customer relationship

management and enterprise resource planning applications as well as marketing automation

software. (Wade, 2017a) Data from these sources may be used to fill in blanks in marketing

and sales strategies. The next level is secondary sources, or secondary literature. Data may be

collected from a wide variety of sources, both organized and unorganized. A brand sentiment
study, for instance, may make use of information gleaned from review sites or social network

APIs. Secondary source research is optional, but it might provide your data analysis a new

perspective. In the era of big data, this is becoming frequent.

Step 3: Clean unnecessary data

Your data team will be responsible for cleaning and categorizing the data after it has

been gathered from all relevant sources. Due to the fact that not all data is good data, data

cleansing is crucial before beginning the analysis phase. In order to get reliable findings, data

scientists must first detect and eliminate any aberrant or redundant information that can affect

the study. Automation of the data-cleaning process that is both smarter and faster thanks to

developments in data science and machine learning platforms is a boon to the time and

energy of data analysts. (Wade, 2017a)

Step 4: Perform data analysis

Data manipulation and analysis is often done as a last stage in the data analysis

process. There are several approaches to this. Data mining, which is described as "knowledge

discovery inside databases," is one approach. Cluster analysis, anomaly detection, and

association rule mining are just a few examples of data mining methods that may help reveal

previously unseen patterns in data. Decision-makers and business users may also take use of

data visualization and business intelligence tools. These tools provide readable charts,

scorecards, dashboards, and reports. The field of data science also allows for the application

of predictive analytics, one of the four main types of data analytics now in use. Predictive

analysis is a method of studying a business issue or topic by looking into its potential

outcomes in the future.

Step 5: Interpret the results

The last phase of data analysis is the interpretation of the findings. As here is when

the hard work of the previous four processes pays off for the company, it is crucial. The
interpretation of data analysis results should support the reasoning of the study, even if the

findings are not definitive. To cut down on manufacturing costs without compromising

quality, for instance, "options A and B may be studied and evaluated." Analysts and end-

users of their work should work together on this. (Wade, 2017a) The absence of any obstacles

or restrictions from the data should also be taken into account when evaluating outcomes. In

fact, it will give you even more assurance as you go on.

References

Wade. (2017a). Supplemental Material for Network Analysis for the Visualization and

Analysis of Qualitative Data. Psychological Methods.

https://doi.org/10.1037/met0000129.supp