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What This Node Does

The Describe Data node generates statistical summaries and profiles of your dataset. It analyzes numeric columns (mean, median, quartiles) and categorical columns (top values, frequencies), providing a comprehensive overview of your data’s characteristics and distributions. [SCREENSHOT: Describe Data node showing statistical summary output]

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When to Use This Node

Use the Describe Data node when you need to:
  • Understand your data - Get quick statistical overview of all columns
  • Profile numeric columns - See mean, median, quartiles, min/max for numeric data
  • Analyze categories - Identify most frequent values in categorical columns
  • Check data quality - Spot outliers, missing patterns, or unusual distributions

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Step-by-Step Usage Guide

1

Add Describe Data node

2

Connect input data

3

Configure quantiles

Set number of quantiles for numeric columns (default: 2 = median)[SCREENSHOT: Quantiles configuration]
4

Configure top K

Set number of top values to show for categorical columns (default: 3)[SCREENSHOT: Top K configuration]
5

Review statistical summary

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Tips and Best Practices

Use Early in Workflows: Add Describe Data right after Input to understand data before transformations.
Adjust Quantiles for Detail: Use 4 quantiles for quartile analysis (25th, 50th, 75th percentiles). Use 10 for decile analysis.
Top K for Categories: Increase Top K to 5-10 for high-cardinality columns to see more frequent values.
Spot Data Issues: Look for unexpected mins/maxes, unusual distributions, or missing data patterns.
Compare Before/After: Use Describe Data before and after cleaning steps to verify transformations worked correctly.
Not for ML Preprocessing: This node describes data but doesn’t transform it. Use Formula, Convert, or other transformation nodes for actual data prep.