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36
L
egal professionals have relied
on data analysis for decades,
often with that analysis carrying
significant importance for high-
stakes matters. From determining
whether a data production is complete and accurate
to running a financial model that determines case
strategy, data analysis plays an important role in
virtually all large-scale disputes and investigations.
Both the opportunity and risk of data analysis often
hinge on how well you understand your data. The
oft-referenced expression "garbage in, garbage out"
remains true, but how do you know what is actually
"garbage" and how do you develop effective analysis
with limited information about the data? In this
article, we present an overview of exploratory data
analysis ("EDA") and describe how you can employ
that in your work to better understand your data.
Exploratory Data Analysis (EDA)
EDA is a set of tools and techniques for
understanding your data. More formally, EDA is a
process for identifying and summarizing the main
characteristics of your data. These characteristics
Increasing the Impact
of Your Analysis:
Exploring and
Understanding Data
by Joe Sremack and Roxanne Wang
