DESCRIBING DATA

Once you have prepared a data file, you are ready to start analyzing the data. The first step in data analysis is describing the data. You look at the information you have gathered and summarize it in various ways. You count the number of people giving each of the possible responses. You describe the values by calculating averages and seeing how much the responses vary. You look at several characteristics together. How many men and how many women are satisfied with your new product? What are their average ages? You also identify values that appear to be unusual, such as ages in the one hundreds or incomes in the millions, and you check the original records to make sure that these values were picked up correctly. You do not want to waste time analyzing incorrect data.