Nongraphical exploratory data analysis is the first step when beginning to analyze your data as part of the general data analysis approach.

This preliminary data analysis step focuses on four points, i.e. for mechanisms that you will want to examine. These include:

• measures of central tendency, i.e. the mean, the media and mode,
• measures of spread, i.e. variability, variants and standard deviation,
• the shape of the distribution, and
• the existence of outliers.

The following pages in this overview review these topics.

Nongraphical exploratory data analysis may be followed by, or be engaged in concurrently with graphical exploratory data analysis. Graphical EDA involves visual exploratory analysis of the data.