ABSTRACT
It is usually best to begin an analysis with an informal exploratory look at a given set of data in order to get a ‘feel’ for them. As they gain more experience, statisticians typically find that they devote more and more energy to this important first phase of the analysis (section 5.1) which comprises the following steps:
Process the data into a suitable form for analysis.
Check the quality of the data. Are there errors, outliers, missing observations or other peculiarities? Do the data need to be modified in any way?
Calculate simple descriptive statistics. These include summary statistics and graphs.
