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Describe

Describe helps you understand your data by showing some summary statistics about a given column or dataset. These statistics include:

  • Count. The number of rows with valid values in the column.
  • Unique. The number of unique values in the column.
  • Mean. The average value (if applicable).
  • Min. The smallest value in the column.
  • Max. The largest value in the column.
  • Representation. The type of the values in the column, such as integers, floats, or strings.
  • Category. The column’s category, including:
  • Display. How the values in the column are displayed, such as currency or percentages.

Note that Describe does not change your dataset like some other skills.

Format​

Describe has several formats you can use to show metadata of a column or a whole dataset:

  • Describe the column <column name> shows the summary statistics of the given column along with a distribution chart.
  • Describe the dataset <dataset name> shows the summary statistics of all columns in the given dataset.
  • Describe the current dataset in detail shows more detailed summary statistics of all columns in the current dataset.

Parameters​

The parameters used to describe a dataset include:

  • Dataset name or column name (required). The name of the dataset or column to describe.
  • In detail (optional). Provides a more detailed description of a dataset, including the following summary statistics:
    • Std. The standard deviation of the values in the column.
    • 25%. The 25th percentile. 25 percent of the values in the column are below this value.
    • Median. The 50th percentile. 50 percent of the values in the column are below this value and 50 percent of the values are above this value.
    • 75%. The 75th percentile. 75 percent of the values in the column are below this value.

Output​

If a column is successfully described,a two-column table with the column’s statistics appears in the conversation history. Also, a histogram is plotted if the given column is continuous, or a bar chart of counts is plotted if the given column is categorical.

If a dataset is successfully described or described in detail, the statistics for each column in the dataset are shown in a table. Note that clicking the name of any value in the Column column runs Describe on that column.

note

In datasets larger than 100,000 rows, string-type columns display "N/A" instead of tallying the number of Unique values.

Examples​

To describe a column, enter Describe the column <column name>

To describe dataset, enter Describe or Describe the current dataset

To describe a named dataset, enter Describe the dataset <dataset name>

To describe the current dataset in detail, enter Describe the current dataset in detail

To describe a named dataset in detail, Describe the dataset <dataset name> in detail