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How to Detect and Deal with Outliers

Outlier detection and management is a core process in data analysis, aimed at identifying data points that deviate significantly from the majority of a dataset. Addressing outliers helps ensure that subsequent analyses and models are not unduly influenced by anomalous values.

Stats & ScoringData basics how-toData Transformation
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How to Detect and Deal with Outliers

How This Workflow Works

This workflow analyzes a sample dataset, applies two established methods to detect outliers, and then removes those outliers to produce a refined dataset. It first uses an interquartile range approach to flag potential outliers, then standardizes the data and identifies extreme values using z-scores, filtering out rows that fall outside typical ranges.

Key Features:

  • Detects outliers using both interquartile range and z-score methods
  • Standardizes numeric data for consistent analysis
  • Removes anomalous data points to improve data quality
  • Prepares a clean dataset for further, more reliable analysis

Step-by-step:

1. Identify Outliers Using Interquartile Range: 

The workflow examines numeric columns to find values that fall outside the typical spread, using the interquartile range as a benchmark. This step flags data points that are unusually high or low compared to the majority of the dataset.

2. Standardize Data with Z-Score Normalization: 

Next, the workflow transforms numeric values so that each column has a mean of zero and a standard deviation of one. This standardization makes it easier to compare values across different features and to spot extreme deviations.

3. Detect and Mark Extreme Values: 

After normalization, the workflow checks each row for values whose absolute z-score exceeds a threshold (in this case, 2). Rows meeting this criterion are marked as containing outliers, highlighting data points that are statistically unusual.

4. Filter Out Outlier Rows: 

Finally, the workflow removes all rows identified as containing extreme values. This leaves a dataset composed only of typical data points, ready for more accurate analysis or modeling.

How to Get Started