Exploratory data analysis
Start from the research question, data dictionary, provenance, experimental unit, sampling design, and downstream use. Never apply a generic plotting checklist without first understanding the data.
Workflow
- Load data without modifying source files and record the exact input path or version.
- Verify dimensions, types, identifiers, units, sample alignment, duplicates, and expected cardinalities.
- Examine missingness, censoring, impossible values, batch structure, and exclusions in context.
- Summarize distributions and relationships at the correct independent-unit level.
- Check repeated measures, clustering, technical replication, leakage, and confounding before group comparisons.
- Investigate unusual observations without automatically deleting them.
- Create only informative, reproducible figures and tables.
- Save analysis code and derived outputs through the project workflow when requested.
Report verified observations separately from interpretations and recommended follow-up. Do not select inferential tests solely from normality tests or treat visual patterns as confirmed effects.