THE MOST SUCCESSFUL BUSINESSES AND ORGANIZATIONS ARE THOSE THAT CONSTANTLY LEARN AND ADAPT.

No matter what industry you’re operating in, it’s essential to understand what has happened in the past, what’s going on now, and to anticipate what might happen in the future. So how do companies do that?

The answer lies in data analytics. Most companies are collecting data all the time—but, in its raw form, this data doesn’t really mean anything. It’s what you do with the data that counts. Data analytics is the process of analyzing raw data in order to draw out patterns, trends, and insights that can tell you something meaningful about a particular area of the business. These insights are then used to make smart, data-driven decisions.

The kinds of insights you get from your data depend on the type of analysis you perform. In data analytics and data science, there are four main types of data analysis: Descriptive, diagnostic, predictive, and prescriptive.

In this post, we’ll explain each of the four and consider why they’re useful. If you’re interested in a particular type of analysis, jump straight to the relevant section using the clickable menu below.

Types of data analysis: Descriptive
Types of data analysis: Diagnostic
Types of data analysis: Predictive
Types of data analysis: Prescriptive
Key takeaways and further reading

So, what are the four main types of data analysis? Let’s find out.

1. TYPES OF DATA ANALYSIS: DESCRIPTIVE (WHAT HAPPENED?)
Descriptive analytics looks at what has happened in the past.

As the name suggests, the purpose of descriptive analytics is to simply describe what has happened; it doesn’t try to explain why this might have happened or to establish cause-and-effect relationships. The aim is solely to provide an easily digestible snapshot.

Google Analytics is a good example of descriptive analytics in action; it provides a simple overview of what’s been going on with your website, showing you how many people visited in a given time period, for example, or where your visitors came from. Similarly, tools like HubSpot will show you how many people opened a particular email or engaged with a certain campaign.

Continue reading: https://meziesblog.com/the-ultimate-guide-to-data-analysis/

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