Alteryx Foundation Micro-Credential Practice Exam

What type of data is typically used for statistical analysis?

1. Qualitative data

2. Ordinal data

3. Textual data

4. Quantitative data

The correct answer is: Quantitative data

Quantitative data is typically used for statistical analysis because it consists of numerical values that can be measured and quantified. This type of data allows for a range of mathematical operations to be performed, such as calculating means, medians, variances, and performing various statistical tests. Quantitative data can be further divided into discrete and continuous data, offering flexibility for analysis across various models and statistical techniques. While qualitative data consists of non-numerical information that describes characteristics or qualities, it is often not suitable for traditional statistical analysis, as it does not lend itself to arithmetic calculations. Ordinal data, which represents categories with a meaningful order but does not quantify the differences between them, may provide some analytical capabilities but has limitations compared to quantitative data. Textual data, being unstructured information composed of words and sentences, typically requires additional processing through techniques like text mining to extract insights but is not inherently suitable for statistical analysis without conversion to quantitative metrics.