Week 1: Introducing data analytics
Optional: Familiar with data analytics? Take our diagnostic quiz
Practice Quiz
1. Optional speed track for those experienced in data analytics
The Google Data Analytics Certificate provides instruction and feedback for learners hoping to earn a position as an entry-level data analyst. While many learners will be brand new to the world of data analytics, others may be familiar with the field and simply wanting to brush up on certain skills.
If you believe this course will be primarily a refresher for you, we recommend taking this practice diagnostic quiz. It will enable you to determine if you should follow the speed track, which is an opportunity to proceed to Course 2 after taking each of the Course 1 Weekly Challenges and the overall Course Challenge. Learners who earn 100% on the diagnostic quiz can treat Course 1 videos, readings, and activities as optional. Learners following the speed track are still able to earn the certificate.
If you aren't familiar with data analytics, this course was made for you! Feel free to skip this quiz and move forward through all of the course material.
Get ready to take the next step in your data analytics journey with the question below!
A clothing retailer collects and stores data about its sales revenue. Which of the following would be part of its data ecosystem? Select all that apply.
- Records of its inventory
- The database of sales revenue
- The databases of competing retailers
- The cloud that store its database
Explanation: A data ecosystem involves the various components that interact to store, manage, and analyze data. In this case, the database and the cloud that stores it are part of the ecosystem.
2. What is the process of guiding business strategy using facts?
- Strategic improvement
- Data-driven decision-making
- Identification of data and decisions
- Analytical planning
Explanation: Data-driven decision-making refers to the process of using factual data, rather than intuition or personal experience, to guide business strategies and decisions.
3. Fill in the blank: Curiosity, understanding context, having a technical mindset, data design, and data strategy are _____. They enable data analysts to solve problems using facts.
- analytical skills
- business skills
- thought processes
- personal insights
Explanation: These qualities are essential for data analysts to effectively analyze and solve problems. Analytical skills help them interpret and use data to make informed decisions.
4. The owner of a skate shop notices that every time a certain employee has a shift, there are higher sales numbers at the end of the day. After some investigation, the owner realizes that since the employee was hired, the store earns 15% more each month. In this scenario, the manager used which quality of analytical thinking?
- Visualization
- Correlation
- Problem-orientation
- Big-picture thinking
Explanation: Correlation refers to identifying a relationship between two or more variables. In this case, the shop owner noticed a correlation between the employee’s shifts and increased sales.
5. Gap analysis is a process that could help accomplish which of the following tasks? Select all that apply.
- Increase the efficiency of a car manufacturer based on its current assembly process
- Improve accessibility for an educational app based on its current functionality
- Reduce a company’s carbon footprint based on its current emissions
- Spread awareness about income inequality based on local salaries
Explanation: Gap analysis identifies the difference between current performance and desired goals. It helps organizations identify areas for improvement, such as increasing efficiency or reducing environmental impact.
6. An advertising firm has used insights from its analytics team to create a strategy for improving sales. Now, they implement a plan to increase annual revenue. The firm is at which step of the data analysis process?
- Act
- Analyze
- Process
- Share
Explanation: The “Act” phase involves taking the insights gained from data analysis and implementing them into action. In this case, the firm is implementing a plan to increase revenue.
7. A data analyst adds descriptive headers to columns of data in a spreadsheet. How does this improve the spreadsheet?
- It adds context
- It clarifies the business strategy
- It improves the aesthetic appeal
It eliminates unnecessary details
Explanation: Descriptive headers provide context, making the data easier to understand. They help users quickly grasp the meaning of each column’s data.
8. This is a selection from a spreadsheet that ranks the 10 most populous cities in North Carolina. To alphabetize the county names in column D, which spreadsheet tool would you use?
- Alphabetize range
- Name range
- Organize range
- Sort range
Explanation: Sorting a range of data alphabetically helps organize the data and makes it easier to find specific information.
9. You are querying a database of manufacturing company suppliers. The column name for supplier identification numbers is supplier_id. What is the correct clause to retrieve only data about the supplier with identification number 85317?
- COLUMN supplier_id = 85317
- SELECT supplier_id 85317
- WHERE supplier_id = 85317
- FROM supplier_id 85317
Explanation: The “WHERE” clause is used in SQL to filter the data and retrieve only the rows that meet specific criteria, such as a particular supplier ID.
10. Imagine you are sharing your data with a company stakeholder. Why might you display data with a data visualization instead of a table? Select all that apply.
- It’s easy to understand
- It thoroughly describes each data point
- It’s aesthetically pleasing
- It helps them identify trends more quickly
Explanation: Data visualizations are easier to understand, visually appealing, and allow for quicker identification of trends compared to a table of raw data.
Test your knowledge on the data ecosystem
Practice Quiz
11. Which of the following statements best defines data?
- Data is an assortment of questions.
- Data is a business process.
- Data is a collection of facts.
- Data is the use of calculations and statistics.
Explanation: Data refers to raw facts and figures that are collected for analysis. It can take many forms such as numbers, text, or observations. The collection of these facts forms the basis for further analysis.
12.Fill in the blank: In data analytics, the data ecosystem refers to the various elements that interact with one another to produce, manage, store, _____, analyze, and share data.
- ingest
- organize
- merge
- locate
Explanation: The data ecosystem involves multiple components working together to manage and process data. “Organize” is the correct term as it refers to structuring the data in a way that allows for easy analysis and sharing.
13.Which of the following terms refers to the collection, transformation, and organization of data in order to draw conclusions, make predictions, and drive informed decision-making?
- Data insight
- Data elements
- Data life cycle
- Data analysis
Explanation: Data analysis is the process of collecting, transforming, and organizing data to extract meaningful insights. It involves identifying patterns, drawing conclusions, and making predictions based on the data to inform decision-making.
14. An airline collects, observes, and analyzes its customers' online behaviors. Then, it uses the insights gained to choose what new products and services to offer. What business process does this describe?
- Collaboration with stakeholders
- Data-driven decision-making
- Analytical thinking
- Performance measurement
Explanation: Data-driven decision-making refers to the process of making decisions based on data analysis and insights. In this case, the airline is using customer behavior data to decide on new products and services, which is an example of data-driven decision-making.
Test your knowledge on proper use of the discussion forum
Practice Quiz
15. Which of the following examples is an appropriate use of the discussion forum?
- Sharing a photo of your new pet
- Asking a question about a lesson from this program
- Posting answers to quiz questions
- Asking other learners to give your resume to their employer
Explanation: The discussion forum is designed for academic and course-related discussions, such as clarifying concepts or seeking help with course material. Sharing personal photos or resumes, or posting quiz answers, is not appropriate and goes against the forum’s purpose.
16. In order to create clear and engaging discussions in the forum, which type of writing styles should you use? Select all that apply.
- Writing in text message language, such as BTW for “by the way”
- Typing in all lowercase
- Writing in complete sentences
- Including proper punctuation, such as commas and periods
Explanation: Writing in complete sentences and using proper punctuation helps maintain clarity and professionalism in forum discussions. Text message language or all lowercase writing can be difficult to read and may come across as unprofessional.
17. When posting in the discussion forum, what type of behavior is acceptable?
- Sharing advertisements and product promotions
- Being sensitive, kind, and open-minded
- Conveying your opinion clearly by arguing against someone’s perspective
- Using cursing to emphasize your point
Explanation: Online forums should be a respectful space for learning and exchanging ideas. Showing sensitivity, kindness, and open-mindedness fosters constructive discussions. Sharing advertisements, arguing aggressively, or using offensive language violates community guidelines.
*Module 1 challenge*
Graded Quiz.
18. Data analysis is the various elements that interact with one another in order to provide, manage, store, organize, analyze, and share data.
- True
- False
19. In data analytics, a model is a group of elements that interact with one another.
- True
- False
Explanation: In data analytics, a data ecosystem refers to a group of elements that interact with one another to manage and process data. A model, on the other hand, typically refers to a representation or framework used for analysis or predictions.
20. Fill in the blank: The primary goal of a data _____ is to create new questions using data.
- designer
- analyst
- engineer
- scientist
Explanation: Data scientists specialize in analyzing complex data and generating new questions or hypotheses. This role involves developing innovative ways to interpret and use data.
21. Fill in the blank: The term _____ is defined as an intuitive understanding of something with little or no explanation.
- personal opinion
- rational thought
- gut instinct
- awareness
22. A company defines a problem it wants to solve. Then, a data analyst gathers relevant data, analyzes it, and uses it to draw conclusions. The analyst shares their analysis with subject-matter experts, who validate the findings. Finally, a plan is put into action. What does this scenario describe?
- Data science
- Data-driven decision-making
- Customer service
- Identification of trends
23. What do subject-matter experts do to support data-driven decision-making? Select all that apply.
- Offer insights into the business problem
- Review the results of data analysis and identify any inconsistencies
- Collect, transform, and organize data
- Validate the choices made as a result of the data insights
Explanation: Subject-matter experts (SMEs) play a critical role by providing context, identifying potential flaws or inconsistencies, and ensuring the practicality of data-driven recommendations.
24. You have just finished analyzing data for a marketing project. Before moving forward, you share your results with members of the marketing team to see if they might have additional insights into the business problem. What practice does this support?
- Data analytics
- Data science
- Data-driven decision-making
- Data management
Explanation: Including team insights ensures the data analysis aligns with business realities. This practice exemplifies the collaborative nature of data-driven decision-making.
25. You read an interesting article about data analytics in a magazine and want to share some ideas from the article in the discussion forum. In your post, you include the author and a link to the original article. This would be an inappropriate use of the forum.
- True
- False
Explanation: Sharing relevant and credited materials enriches the learning experience. As long as it aligns with forum guidelines, such contributions are encouraged.
26. Which of the following options describes data analysis?
- The various elements that interact with one another in order to provide, manage, store, organize, analyze, and share data
- Creating new ways of modeling and understanding the unknown by using raw data
- The collection, transformation, and organization of data in order to draw conclusions, make predictions, and drive informed decision-making
- Using facts to guide business strategy
Explanation: Data analysis involves processing raw data to extract meaningful insights that inform strategies and decisions. This definition emphasizes the purpose of organizing and transforming data into actionable knowledge.
27. In data analytics, what term describes a collection of elements that interact with one another to produce, manage, store, organize, analyze, and share data?
- The cloud environment
- A modeling system
- A data ecosystem
- A database
28. Select the best description of gut instinct.
- Choosing facts that complement your personal experiences
- An intuitive understanding of something with little or no explanation
- Manipulating data to match your intuition
- Using your innate ability to analyze results
Explanation: Gut instinct is often based on personal intuition rather than empirical data or evidence. While valuable in some cases, it lacks the structured reasoning of data-driven insights.
29. A furniture manufacturer wants to find a more environmentally friendly way to make its products. A data analyst helps solve this problem by gathering relevant data, analyzing it, and using it to draw conclusions. The analyst then shares their analysis with subject-matter experts from the manufacturing team, who validate the findings. Finally, a plan is put into action. This scenario describes data-driven decision making.
- True
- False
30. Fill in the blank: _______ are an important part of data-driven decision-making because they are people familiar with the business problem and can offer insight into the results of data analysis.
- Customers
- Competitors
- Subject-matter experts
- Stakeholders
31. Consulting with experts in the marketing department about your marketing analysis is an example of what process?
- Data analytics
- Data-driven decision-making
- Data management
- Data science
32. You have recently subscribed to an online data analytics magazine. You really enjoyed an article and want to share it in the discussion forum. Which of the following would be appropriate in a post? Select all that apply.
- Checking your post for typos or grammatical errors.
- Including an advertisement for how to subscribe to the data analytics magazine.
- Giving credit to the original author.
- Including your own thoughts about the article.
33. Which of the following could be elements of a data ecosystem? Select all that apply
- Sharing data
- Producing data
- Gaining insights
- Managing data
34. If you are using data-driven decision-making, what action steps would you take? Select all that apply.
- Surveying customers about results, conclusions, and recommendations
- Gathering and analyzing data
- Sharing your results with subject matter experts
- Drawing conclusions from your analysis
35. What do subject-matter experts do to support data-driven decision-making? Select all that apply.
- Collect, transform, and organize data
- Offer insights into the business problem
- Review the results of data analysis and identify any inconsistencies
- Validate the choices made as a result of the data insights
36. Fill in the blank: When following data-driven decision-making, a data analyst will consult with ______ .
- subject matter experts
- stakeholders
- managers
- customers
37. What is the purpose of data analysis? Select all that apply.
- To drive informed decision-making
- To create models of data
- To draw conclusions
- To make predictions
38. A data analyst is someone who does what?
- Designs new products
- Creates new questions using data
- Solves engineering problems
- Finds answers to existing questions by creating insights from data sources
39. What tactics can a data analyst use to effectively blend gut instinct with facts? Select all that apply.
- Use their knowledge of how their company works to better understand a business need.
- Focus on intuition to choose which data to collect and how to analyze it.
- Ask how to define success for a project, but rely most heavily on their own personal perspective.
- Apply their unique past experiences to their current work, while keeping in mind the story the data is telling.
40. To get the most out of data-driven decision-making, it’s important to include insights from people very familiar with the business problem. What are these people called?
- Subject-matter experts
- Customers
- Stakeholders
- Competitors
41. A music streaming service is looking to increase user engagement on their platform. The CEO decides to leverage the company's user data and tasks the data analysts with uncovering unknown trends and characteristics of the companies user base. This strategy is known as what?
- Data analytics decision-making
- Data science decision-making
- Data management decision-making
- Data-driven decision-making
42. You read an interesting article in a magazine and want to share it in the discussion forum. What should you do when posting? Select all that apply.
- Check your post for typos or grammatical errors
- Include your email address for people to send questions or comments
- Make sure the article is relevant to data analytics
- Take credit for creating the article
43. A data scientist is someone who does what?
- Creates new questions using data
- Finds answers to existing questions by creating insights from data sources
- Solves engineering problems
- Solves engineering problems
44. Data analysts act as detectives to uncover clues within the data. Like a detective, a data analyst may use their _______ to solve business problems.
- personal opinion
- rational thought
- gut instinct
- awareness
45. In data-driven decision-making, a data analyst would share their results with subject matter experts and draw conclusions from their analysis. What else would a data analyst do in data-driven decision-making?
- Identification of trends
- Determining the stakeholders.
- Survey customers about results, conclusions, and recommendations
- Gather and analyze data
46. Fill in the blank: _________ is the act of consulting with subject-matter experts about the results of your data analysis.
- Data analytics
- Data science
- Data management
- Data-driven decision-making
47. Data ______ is the collection, transformation, and organization of data in order to draw conclusions, make predictions, and drive informed decision-making.
- science
- analysis
- ecosystem
- life cycle
48. Fill in the blank: The primary goal of a data _____ is to find answers to existing questions by creating insights from data sources.
- engineer
- scientist
- analyst
- designer
49. Sharing your results with subject matter experts and gathering and analyzing data are carried out in data driven-decision-making. What else is included in this process?
- Determining the stakeholders
- Identification of trends
- Drawing conclusions from your analysis.
- Surveying customers about results, conclusions, and recommendations
50. Fill in the blank: The people very familiar with a business problem are called _____. They are an important part of data-driven decision-making.
- subject-matter experts
- customers
- competitors
- stakeholders
51. Fill in the blank: When posting in a discussion forum, you should always check your post for _______ and grammatical errors
- support
- typos
- importance
- popularity
52. Fill in the blank: Hardware, software, and the cloud all interact with each other to store and organize data in a _____.
- cloud environment
- modeling system
- database
- data ecosystem
53. Gut instinct is an intuitive understanding of something with little or no explanation.
- True
- False
54. You have just received the results of your latest analysis about the effectiveness of your firm’s recent marketing campaign. However, because you want to follow data-driven decision-making you share your results with colleagues from the marketing department for their validation. In this role, these colleague’s are acting as what?
- competitors
- subject-matter experts
- customers
- stakeholders
55. Finding answers to existing questions by creating insights from data sources is the primary goal of a data analyst.
- True
- False
56. Fill in the blank: In data science, ________ is when a data analyst uses their unique past experiences to understand the story the data is telling.
- rational thought
- gut instinct
- awareness
- personal opinion
57. The objective of data analysis is to draw conclusions, make predictions, and drive informed decision-making. In order to do this, a data analyst must do which of the following with data? Select all that apply.
- Organize it
- Transform it
- Collect it
- Sell it
58. Fill in the blank: Data ecosystems are made up of elements that _____ with each other. This makes it possible for them to produce, manage, store, organize, analyze, and share data.
- interact
- unite
- gain insights
- problem-solve
59. Fill in the blank: The primary goal of a data _____ is to create new questions using data, instead of analyzing data to find answers to existing questions.
- designer
- scientist
- engineer
- analyst
60. Fill in the blank: The terms _____ are defined as an intuitive understanding of something with little or no explanation. Select all that apply.
- awareness
- gut instinct
- personal opinion
- rational thought
61. A data analyst at Billings Upholstery is trying to find more environmentally friendly way to produce furniture. The data analyst gathers relevant data, analyzes it, and uses it to draw conclusions. Then they share this analysis with subject-matter experts in manufacturing. Once the subject-matter experts have reviewed the analysis, a plan is put into action. What process does this scenario describe?
- Customer service
- Data science
- Data-driven decision-making
- Identification of trends
62. Fill in the blank: A collection of elements that interact with one another to produce, manage, store, organize, analyze, and share data is known as a data ______ .
- environment
- model
- cloud
- ecosystem
63. In data-driven decision-making, a person who is very familiar with the business problem is known as a subject-matter expert.
- True
- False
64. Fill in the blank: When posting in a discussion forum, you should make sure that any articles discussed are _______ to data analytics.
- popular
- unique
- well known
- relevant
65. As a data analyst, you finish analyzing the latest marketing data. If you are following the data-driven decision making process, what should you do next?
- Survey customers about results, conclusions, and recommendations
- Create a model based on the results of the analysis
- Share the results with subject-matter experts from the marketing team for their input
- Archive the datasets in order to keep them secure
66. Billings Upholstery has defined a problem it needs to solve: Find a more environmentally friendly way to produce its furniture. A data analyst gathers relevant data, analyzes it, and uses it to draw conclusions. The analyst then shares their analysis with subject-matter experts from the manufacturing team, who validate the findings. Finally, a plan is put into action. This scenario describes what process?
- Customer service
- Data-driven decision-making
- Identification of trends
- Data science
Explanation: This scenario highlights how data is central to decision-making, from problem identification to analysis and action. The process integrates data with expert validation, embodying data-driven decision-making.