Data Analysis & Interpretation Techniques Flashcards

Why is comparing this December's e-commerce sales to this November's often misleading?

Answer: Seasonality affects both months differently

Seasonal patterns make adjacent-period comparisons unreliable; year-over-year comparison is usually better.

In a conversion funnel, which finding signals the highest-priority optimization opportunity?

Answer: The step with the largest absolute drop-off among high-volume traffic

Large drop-offs at high-volume steps represent the greatest recoverable conversions.

What does a high exit rate on a thank-you page typically indicate?

Answer: Normal behavior because the goal has been completed

Users naturally leave after completing a conversion, so a high exit rate there is expected.

Which approach best reduces the risk of drawing false conclusions from a small sample of data?

Answer: Checking statistical significance and confidence intervals

Significance tests and confidence intervals quantify how likely observed differences are due to chance.

A segment of mobile users shows a 90% bounce rate, but only 12 sessions. How should this be treated?

Answer: As unreliable due to the tiny sample size

Very small samples produce volatile metrics that should not drive decisions.

Which type of analysis answers the question 'What happened and why did it happen?'

Answer: Diagnostic analysis

Diagnostic analysis investigates causes behind observed outcomes.

What is a key risk of relying solely on last-click attribution when interpreting channel performance?

Answer: It undervalues channels that introduce or assist users earlier in the journey

Last-click credits only the final touch, ignoring earlier assisting interactions.