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During the most recent election season I would see numerous polls telling me what the population believes. I remember a specific poll that showed a significant portion of the population held a view that I did not hold, and it startled me a bit. So, I looked the analysis up, and found that the poll was of 1,000 people across a three state area in the New England area. I thought to myself, 1,000 people? Is that really a true sample size of the 350+million Americans who have an opinion?

Whether you are looking at political polls, compiling big data, reading a magazine, watching a documentary, or even studying the Bible, I encourage applying these steps to understand the information.

When it comes to data or information analysis, focus on these four steps:

Collection, Interpretation, Application, and Communication

The steps are outlined below with an example of telling time:

1. Collection – Gathering as much data as necessary to answer – What does the data say?
   • 9:45 pm
2. Interpretation – The process of reviewing, validating, and even collecting more data, to answer – What does the data mean?
   • Everyone should be in bed in 15 minutes
3. Application – The result of interpreting the data will lead to a conclusion which will answer – What does the data tell me to do?
   • I need to let everyone know to start getting ready for bed
4. Communication – The process of translating the collected data to an impacted audience you need to answer – How do I tell people what the data means?
   • Exclaim, “It’s 9:45 people….get ready for bed. Turn off your electronics, brush your teeth, and put on your pajamas!”

Regardless of what you are analyzing the process is the same.

The hardest part of analysis is to simply follow the process.

Each step has it’s own challenges, key points, and implications for skipping the step.

Collection – Too much time collecting data can overwhelm the interpretation process. You must learn to weed out bad or irrelevant data. If you skip this step you are simply making things up.

Interpretation – The more variables there are in the data, the more complicated this process becomes. Too few data points may lead you to a false conclusion. You must identify the key variables, and consider multiple alternatives or ways to apply the information. If you skip this step everything else is simply your opinion and you may never know if you had the right information.

Application – There are always other factors you could not know or predict. Based on what you know, it is important to identify what you believe is the best option.  If you skip this step you have nothing to communicate.

Communication – People will consume and interpret information differently, so there is not a simple answer here. Some will want to see all the data, how you interpreted it, all the alternatives you considered, and why you decided on your application. Others will want the concept and the soundbite. A big risk is to communicate misleading soundbites. You must identify your audience, and the level of information you want them to consume, or that they need to consume. If you skip this step then you are the only person who knows what the data is saying.

Using these steps will not only make you a better analyst, it may also make you question or understand the analytical results you hear from others.

Comment – What other ways do you interpret information?