The Importance Of Context

Context is the condition in which something exists or happens. Context is important in data analytics because it helps you sift through huge amounts of disorganized data and turn it into something meaningful. The fact is, data has little value if it is not paired with context.


Context can turn raw data into meaningful information. It is very important for data analysts to contextualize their data. This means giving the data perspective by defining it. To do this, you need to identify:

• Who: The person or organization that created, collected, and/or funded the data collection

• What: The things in the world that data could have an impact on

• Where: The origin of the data

• When: The time when the data was created or collected

• Why: The motivation behind the creation or collection

• How: The method used to create or collect it