Extract insights from data to make informed decisions—increasingly essential skill across careers and personal life as data proliferates everywhere. ), collect data (surveys, databases, tracking), clean data (remove errors, handle missing values), explore (visualize, find patterns), analyze (statistical methods, comparisons), communicate findings (charts, reports, recommendations).
Tools: Excel/Google Sheets (accessible start), SQL (database queries), Python/R (advanced analysis), Tableau/Power BI (visualization). Applications: business (sales trends, customer behavior), personal finance (spending patterns), health (fitness tracking insights), research, marketing effectiveness.
Key concepts: averages vs medians, correlation vs causation (relationships don't prove cause), sample size significance, data visualization best practices. Growing field—high demand. Empowers better decisions. Turns information into knowledge. Start with spreadsheets, grow from there.