These commands are used to get an overview of a data file in advance of detailed processing. They can quickly highlight abnormalities in the table that you can explore through further analysis.
Graphs allow you to visualize data and the results of your analysis. Profile is used primarily to determine minimum, maximum, total and absolute values of numeric fields for the Stratify and Sample commands. Statistics can also be used for this purpose. However, Statistics provides a more complete overview of the significant properties of numeric or date fields. Benford digital analysis can be used to identify data anomalies in certain types of files.
Graphs provide a visual overview of a data files contents.
There are several ways to produce graphs in Analyzer:
| | Graph from a View: highlight either a character field or a date field and/or one or more numeric fields in a View and then right-click in the View and select Graph Selected Data. |
| | Use commands that produce graphable output: Stratify, Classify, Age, Crosstab and Benford. You can use the graph option from the commands output tab or you can double-click the command or its table output in the Command Log. |
Once you have produced a graph, you can right-click in the graph and change the graph type, save it as a bitmap file, copy it to the Windows Clipboard or send it to a printer. For more information on graphing see Graphing a View and Graphs .
Statistics calculates several properties for one or more numeric or date fields, including:
| | Record counts, field totals, and average field values for positive field values, zero values, negative field values, as well as for all records in the file |
| | Absolute value |
| | Range (the difference between the minimum and maximum values) |
| | Highest field values |
| | Lowest field values |
| | Standard deviation of the fields (optional) |
For more information on the Statistics command see Statistics.
Profile calculates the following properties for one or more numeric fields:
| | Total value |
| | Absolute value |
| | Minimum value |
| | Maximum value |
For more information on the Profile command see Profile.
Benford counts the number of times each leading digit or digit combination occurs in a data set and compares the actual count to the expected count.
The expected count is calculated using the Benford algorithm, the industry standard for digital analysis. The command output can be graphed.
Effective Benford analysis requires appropriate sample sizes. Analyzer notifies you in the Command Log when a sample appears inappropriate for Benford analysis.
To help you evaluate the significance of deviations between actual and expected counts, the command output includes the Z-statistic for each count. You can also use the Bounds option to help you identify digit frequencies that are significantly outside expectations.
For more information on the Benford command see Benford.