Data Challenges
PART ONE: ORGANIZING & ANALYZING DATA

PART 1 TASK 1: GETTING TO KNOW THE DATA

Complete & Continue Next Lesson Learn More

Scenario: Before jumping into analysis, as a junior data analyst, it’s important to first orient yourself to the dataset you’ve received. Your goal here is simply to describe the data to better understand what’s included, what stands out at first glance, and what questions might be worth exploring further.

Instructions:

  • Open the Marcy Market Sales Data Google Sheet and navigate to the “Task 1: Getting to Know the Data” in your spreadsheet. Review the data in columns A-E .

  • Respond to the following questions in the ‘Responses’ tab on your spreadsheet.

    • NOTE: You do not need to calculate anything, this is about careful observation, not analysis.

Questions

1. What Do You See?

  1. What are the main categories included in the dataset (column headers)?

  2. Which types of information seem to be categorical (non-numerical) vs. numerical?

  3. What time frame does the dataset cover?

  4. What, if anything, surprises you about the structure or organization of the data?

2. Understanding Scope & Coverage

  1. How many store locations are represented? What do you notice about them?

  2. How many product categories are tracked? Are there any that feel unfamiliar or surprising?

  3. Does it seem like all boroughs have sales in each month? How can you tell?How many store locations are represented? What do you notice about them?

3. Early Observations

  1. What can you guess about the range of total sales amounts (i.e., what’s a low vs. high value)?

  2. Which months appear most often? Why might this matter?

  3. Based on your initial look, what’s one pattern or question that feels worth exploring further?