Week 2: All About Analytical Thinking
Data analysts play multiple roles in their work, requiring a diverse set of skills. In this section of the course, you’ll explore these roles, the key skills used by analysts, and the relationship between analytical thinking and data-driven decision-making.
Learning Objectives
- Understand the concept of data-driven decision-making and review specific examples.
- Identify the key characteristics of analytical thinking.
- Complete a self-assessment on analytical thinking, providing specific examples of its application.
- Demonstrate an understanding of the five key analytical skills used by data analysts.
- Explain how analytical thinking supports effective decision-making.
- Learn to ask more insightful and impactful questions.
Get a read on your analytical skills
1. This practice quiz will help you get a read on the analytical skills you already have.
After you respond to each question, be sure to check the feedback you receive. This will help you check your own thinking against the expected thinking for these questions. The analytical skills assessed in this quiz will come in handy and be further developed as you progress in the program.
Identify the pattern from left to right in the set of blocks below and try to predict which block should replace the block with the question mark.
(Correct)
Correct: This is the missing block. The pattern of the dots increases by one in each block. Therefore, the best answer has five dots.
2. Here’s a more complex pattern. Identify the pattern from left to right in the images below and try to predict which image should come next.
Based on the images above, which option comes next in the pattern?
The triangle with two dots is the next image in the sequence, based on two patterns in the series: the number of sides and the number of dots. Moving from left to right, both decrease by one. Given these patterns, if the previous block contained a shape with four sides and three dots, the next shape should have three sides and two dots.
3. Now, find a pattern in a different format. Select the next number in the sequence:
Fill in the blank: 9, 13, 17, 21, 25, 29, _____
- 10
- 25
- 33 (Correct)
- 55
Correct: The correct answer is 33. The pattern of numbers are all increasing, and the difference between each number is 4.
4. The following numbers are in a sequence from left to right. Determine the pattern and decide which number should come next:
Fill in the blank: 4, 9, 16, 25, 36, 49, _____
- 30
- 64 (Correct)
- 81
- 62
The next number in the series is 64. There are two patterns in the sequence. One pattern involves squaring each number, with the number being squared increasing by one each time (e.g., 2², 3², 4², 5², 6², 7²). The second pattern is in the differences between consecutive numbers in the sequence: 9 – 4 = 5, 16 – 9 = 7, 25 – 16 = 9, and so on.
5. The following question is about recognizing and matching patterns in shapes that are the same, but viewed from different angles.
Two shapes are similar when one can become the other after a rotation clockwise ⟳ or counterclockwise ↺, or a reflection horizontally ↔ and/or vertically ↕.
You are task is to choose the figure that completes the statement. Pay attention to the pattern by which the first and second shapes are related, and then figure out which choice matches shape 3. Fill in the blank:
Select the image below that completes the statement.
(Correct)
Correct: This image completes the statement. The first image in the statement is reflected in the second image. To complete the analogy, the answer would be an image that is a side-by-side reflection of the third image.
6. The following question is about recognizing and matching patterns in shapes that are the same, but viewed from different angles. Two shapes are similar when one can become the other after a rotation clockwise ⟳ or counterclockwise ↺, or a reflection horizontally ↔ and/or vertically ↕.
Which image completes it?
(Correct)
Correct: Since the pattern in the first image was rotated 90 degrees counter-clockwise, this image completes the statement.
7. The following series of codes are in a sequence from left to right. There is a repeating pattern that you will notice. Determine the pattern and decide which code should come next.
Fill in the blank: A1, B3, C5, D7, E9, F11, G13, ____
- H15 (Correct)
- D17
- J15
- H16
The patterns in this series are the letters listed alphabetically and the numbers increasing by two with each new set. Therefore, following this pattern, the next code would be H15.
8. The following series of codes are in a sequence from left to right. There is a repeating pattern that you will notice. Determine the pattern and decide which sequence of letters should come next.
Fill in the blank: A, AA, AAA, B, BA, BAA, BAAA, BB, BBA, BBAA, BBAAA, BBB, _____
- BBBA (Correct)
- BBAA
- BBAAA
- BBBB
The pattern in this sequence follows the letter A, with A being added until there are three As. At that point, the letter B replaces the previous As, and the pattern continues. Therefore, BBBA is next in the series.
9. Now, identify patterns in a word problem using a data visualization. There are 12 chocolates in a box: eight have caramel filling, six have coconut filling, and two have both caramel and coconut filling. Choose the best image that describes this box of chocolates.
(Correct)
Correct: This diagram depicts six chocolates with caramel filling only, four chocolates with coconut filling only, two chocolates with both caramel and coconut filling, and the total number of chocolates is 12.
10. There are 10 children in a class and they have all brought sandwiches for lunch: five children have sandwiches with peanut butter, six children have sandwiches with jelly, and three children have sandwiches with both peanut butter and jelly.
Find out how many children have sandwiches with neither peanut butter nor jelly and choose the image that describes the situation best.
(Correct)
Correct: In this diagram, there are six sandwiches with jelly, five sandwiches with peanut butter, and three sandwiches with both. This means that there are (5 + 6 – 3 = 8 ) eight sandwiches with either peanut butter or jelly. There are a total of 10 children. Consider: 10 – 8 = 2. This means two children have neither peanut butter nor jelly in their sandwiches.
PRACTICE QUIZ: Test your knowledge on Analytical Thinking
1. What practice involves identifying, defining, and solving a problem by using data in an organized, step-by-step manner?
- Analytical Thinking (Correct)
- Visualization
- Data design
- Context
Correct: Analytical thinking involves identifying and defining a problem, then solving it by using data in an organized, step-by-step manner.
2. Which of the following are examples of data visualizations? Select all that apply.
- Reports
- Charts (Correct)
- Graphs (Correct)
- Maps (Correct)
Correct: Graphs, maps, and charts are used in data visualization.
3. Gap analysis is used to examine and evaluate how a process currently works with the goal of getting to where you want to be in the future.
- True (Correct)
- False
Gap analysis is used to assess and evaluate how a process currently operates, with the goal of identifying the steps needed to reach the desired future state.
4. Which aspect of analytical thinking involves being able to identify a relationship between two or more pieces of data?
- Correlation (Correct)
- Context
- Data Design
- Visualization
Correct: Correlation involves being able to identify a relationship between two or more pieces of data. A correlation is like a relationship.
PRACTICE QUIZ: TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE ON OUTCOMES
1. Fill in the blank: Curiosity, understanding context, and having a technical mindset are all examples of _____ used in data-driven decision-making.
- Thought processes
- Data models
- Business strategies
- Analytical Skills (Correct)
Correct: Curiosity, understanding context, and having a technical mindset are all examples of analytical skills used to make data-driven decisions.
2. Surveying customers about their preferences and using that information to inform business strategy is an example of data-driven decision-making.
- True (Correct)
- False
Correct: Surveying customers about their preferences and using that information to inform business strategy is an example of data-driven decision-making.
3. In data analysis, which analytical skill involves the management of people, processes, and tools?
- Data design
- Data strategy (Correct)
- Data control
- Data analytics
Correct: Data strategy involves the management of the people, processes, and tools.
QUIZ: WEEKLY CHALLENGE 2
1. Curiosity is an analytical skill that involves which of the following?
- Seeking out new challenges and experiences (Correct)
- Collaborating to solve a problem
- Working with facts in an orderly manner
- Using your gut instinct
Correct: Curious people usually seek out new challenges and experiences which leads to knowledge.
2. Adding descriptive headers to columns of data in a spreadsheet is an example of which analytical skill?
- Understanding context (Correct)
- Big-picture thinking
- Data strategy
- Curiosity
Correct: Gap analysis is used to assess and evaluate how a process currently operates, with the goal of identifying the steps needed to reach the desired future state.
3. Having a technical mindset is an analytical skill involving what?
- Breaking things down into smaller steps or pieces (Correct)
- Understanding the condition in which something exists or happens
- Balancing roles and responsibilities
- Managing people, processes, and tools
Correct: A technical mindset involves the ability to decompose complex tasks or processes into smaller, manageable steps and approach them in a systematic and logical manner.
4. Data design is how you organize information; data strategy is the management of the people, processes, and tools used in data analysis.
- True (Correct)
- False
Correct: Data design refers to the organization and structuring of information, while data strategy focuses on managing the people, processes, and tools involved in data analysis.
5. Correlation is the aspect of analytical thinking that involves figuring out the specifics that help you execute a plan.
- True
- False (Correct)
Correct: Correlation involves being able to identify a relationship between two or more pieces of data.
6. What method involves asking numerous questions in order to get to the root cause of a problem?
- Curiosity
- Inquiry
- The Five whys (Correct)
- Strategizing
Correct: The five whys involves asking numerous questions in order to get to the root cause of a problem?
7. An airport wants to make its luggage-handling process faster and simpler for travelers. A data analyst examines and evaluates how the process works currently in order to achieve the goal of a more efficient process. What methodology do they use?
- Strategy
- Data visualization
- The five whys
- Gap analysis (Correct)
Correct: Gap analysis is a method for examining and evaluating how a process works currently in order to get where you want to be in the future.
8. Data-driven decision-making involves the five analytical skills: curiosity, understanding context, having a technical mindset, data design, and data strategy. Each plays a role in data-driven decision-making.
- True (Correct)
- False
Data-driven decision-making requires curiosity, contextual understanding, a technical mindset, effective data design, and a solid data strategy.
9. Fill in the blank: Being able to identify a relationship between two or more pieces of data describes _____.
- visualization
- problem-orientation
- detail-oriented thinking
- correlation (CORRECT)
Correct: Being able to identify a relationship between two or more pieces of data describes correlation.
10. Data analysts ask, “Why?” five times in order to get to the root cause of a problem.
- True (CORRECT)
- False
Correct: Data analysts ask, “Why?” five times in order to get to the root cause of a problem.
11. A company is receiving negative comments on social media about their products. To solve this problem, a data analyst uses each of their five analytical skills: curiosity, understanding context, having a technical mindset, data design, and data strategy. This makes it possible for the analyst to use facts to guide business strategy and figure out how to improve customer satisfaction. What is this an example of?
- Data visualization
- Gap analysis
- Data-driven decision-making (CORRECT)
- Data science
Correct: Data-driven decision-making involves using facts to guide business strategy. The five essential analytical skills are a key part of data-driven decision-making.
12. Seeking out new challenges and experiences in order to learn is an example of which analytical skill?
- Curiosity (CORRECT)
- Data strategy
- Having a technical mindset
- Understanding context
Correct: Curious people seek out new challenges, which leads to knowledge.
13. Identifying the motivation behind data collection and gathering additional information are examples of which analytical skill?
- A technical mindset
- Data strategy
- Data design
- Understanding context (CORRECT)
Correct: Identifying the motivation behind data collection and seeking additional information are examples of understanding context. Context refers to the circumstances or conditions in which something exists or occurs.
14. Fill in the blank: _____ involves the ability to break things down into smaller steps or pieces and work with them in an orderly and logical way.
- A technical mindset (CORRECT)
- Context
- Curiosity
- Data strategy
Correct: A technical mindset is the ability to break complex tasks or processes into smaller, manageable steps and approach them systematically and logically.
15. Fill in the blank: Data strategy involves _____ the people, processes, and tools used in data analysis.
- choosing
- visualizing
- managing (CORRECT)
- supervising
Correct: Data strategy is the management of the people, processes, and tools used in data analysis.
16. The manager at a music shop notices that more trombones are repaired on the days when Alex and Jasmine work the same shift. After some investigation, the manager discovers that Alex is excellent at fixing slides, and Jasmine is great at shaping mouthpieces. Working together, Alex and Jasmine repair trombones faster. The manager is happy to have discovered this relationship and decides to always schedule Alex and Jasmine for the same shifts. In this scenario, the manager used which quality of analytical thinking?
- Visualization
- Problem-orientation
- Big-picture thinking
- Correlation (CORRECT)
Correct: The manager applied correlation, which involves identifying and understanding the relationship between two or more data points.
17. The five whys is a technique that involves asking, “Why?” five times in order to achieve what goal?
- Put a plan into action
- Visualize how a process should look in the future
- Use facts to guide business strategy
- Identify the root cause of a problem (CORRECT)
Correct: In the five whys, you ask, “Why?” five times to reveal the root cause of a problem.
18. What method involves examining and evaluating how a process works currently in order to get it where you want it to be in the future?
- Data visualization
- Strategy
- The five whys
- Gap analysis (CORRECT)
Correct: Gap analysis is a method used to assess and evaluate how a process currently operates to determine the steps needed to achieve a desired future state.
19. A data analyst works for an appliance manufacturer. Last year, the company’s profits were down. Lower profits can be a result of fewer people buying appliances, higher costs to make appliances, or a combination of both. The analyst recognizes that those are big issues to solve, so they break down the problems into smaller pieces to analyze them in an orderly way. Which analytical skill are they using?
- A technical mindset (CORRECT)
- Data strategy
- Understanding context
- Curiosity
Correct: They are using a technical mindset, which involves the ability to break things down into smaller steps or pieces and work with them in an orderly and logical way.
20. Understanding context is an analytical skill best described by which of the following? Select all that apply
- Working with facts in an orderly manner
- Gathering additional information about data to understand the broader picture (CORRECT)
- Adding descriptive headers to columns of data in a spreadsheet (CORRECT)
- Identifying the motivation behind the collection of a dataset (CORRECT)
Gathering additional information about data to understand the broader picture provides context.
Adding descriptive headers to spreadsheet columns offers context about the data below.
Identifying the motivation behind collecting a dataset helps clarify its context.
21. Gap analysis is a method for examining and evaluating how a process works currently in order to get where you want to be in the future
- True (CORRECT)
- False
Correct: Gap analysis is a method used to examine and evaluate how a process currently functions to identify the steps needed to reach a desired future state.
22. Which analytical skill involves managing the people, processes, and tools used in data analysis?
- Curiosity
- Data strategy (CORRECT)
- Data design
- Understanding context
Correct: Data strategy involves managing the people, processes, and tools used in data analysis.
23. Fill in the blank: Correlation is the observation that there is a _ between two or more pieces of data.
- visualization
- choice
- competition
- relationship (CORRECT)
Correct!
24. Fill in the blank: In order to get to the root cause of a problem, a data analyst should ask “Why?” ________ times.
- five (CORRECT)
- three
- seven
- four
Correct!
25. A junior data analyst is seeking out new experiences in order to gain knowledge. They watch videos and read articles about data analytics. They ask experts questions. Which analytical skill are they using?
- Data strategy
- Having a technical mindset
- Curiosity (CORRECT)
- Understanding context
Correct!
26. The analytical skill of understanding context entails which of the following?
- Managing people, processes, and tools
- Understanding the condition in which something exists or happens (CORRECT)
- Balancing roles and responsibilities
- Breaking things down into smaller steps or pieces
Correct!
27. In data analysis, data strategy is the analytical skill that involves managing which of the following? Select all that apply.
- Consent
- People (CORRECT)
- Tools (CORRECT)
- Processes (CORRECT)
Correct!
28. A grocery store owner notices that they sell more orange juice during the winter season, when people are more likely to get sick. After observing this for a couple of years, they decide to stock more orange juice during the winter. The store owner is using which quality of analytical thinking?
- visualization
- correlation (CORRECT)
- detail-oriented thinking
- problem-orientation
Correct!
29. What method involves asking multiple questions in order to get to the root cause of a problem?
- Curiosity
- Inquiry
- The five whys (CORRECT)
- Strategizing
Correct!
30. Data analysts following data-driven decision-making use the analytical skills of curiosity, having a technical mindset, and data design. What other two analytical skills would they employ? Select all that apply
- efficiency
- knowledge
- understanding context (CORRECT)
- data strategy (CORRECT)
Correct!
31. Fill in the blank: For a data analyst, curiosity is the analytical skill of seeking out new ______ and experiences in order to gain knowledge.
- challenges (CORRECT)
- stakeholders
- colleagues
- investments
Correct!
32. As a recently promoted data scientist one of your responsibilities is the implementation of data strategy. What would this responsibility include?
- Managing the people, processes, and tools involved (CORRECT)
- Breaking things down into smaller steps or pieces and working with them in an orderly and logical way
- Evaluating how a process works currently in order to get where you want to be in the future
- Identifying a relationship between two or more pieces of data
Correct!
33. Identifying a relationship between two or more pieces of data is known as what?
- visualization
- correlation (CORRECT)
- problem-orientation
- detail-oriented thinking
Correct!
34. In order to get at the root cause of a problem, a data analyst would ask ______ .
- project stakeholders
- the engineering team
- the five whys (CORRECT)
- their customers
Correct!
35. In data analysis, one often examines and evaluates how a process currently works in order to get it to where they want it to be in the future. This is known as what?
- Determining the stakeholders
- Building a data visualization
- Asking the five whys
- Gap analysis (CORRECT)
Correct!
36. Fill in the blank: In data-driven decision making, data analysts use five analytical skills of curiosity, understanding context, having a technical mindset, data design, and _______ .
- data strategy (CORRECT)
- intuition
- forward-looking
- efficiency
Correct!
37. As a new data analyst, your boss asks you to perform a gap analysis on one of their current processes. What does this entail?
- Determining the stakeholders
- Building a data visualization
- Examining and evaluating how a process works currently in order to get where you want to be in the future (CORRECT)
- Asking the five whys
Correct!
38. A technical mindset involves the ability to break things down into smaller steps or pieces and work with them in an orderly and logical way.
- True (CORRECT)
- False
Correct!
39. Fill in the blank: In data analysis, data strategy involves managing the people, processes, and _____ .
- procedures
- tools
- projects (CORRECT)
- consent
Correct!
40. A company is seeing a decline in organizational efficiency. They decide to hire an outside organization to help increase overall performance. The data analyst, working for the newly contracted company, utilizes five analytical skills: curiosity, understanding context, having a technical mindset, data design, and data strategy to deliver the project goals. Once the project goals are met, the analyst informs the decision makers of their findings and the project is completed. What strategy did the data analyst use to complete this project?
- Gap analysis
- The five whys
- Data-driven decision-making (CORRECT)
- Gut instinct
Correct!