Business Degree Certification Practice Test

What activity is Keith engaged in when searching through data files to detect sales patterns?

1. Data forecasting

2. Marketing decision support systems

3. Data mining

4. Sales forecasting

The correct answer is: Data mining

The activity of searching through data files to detect sales patterns involves identifying trends, relationships, and insights from large sets of data. This process is known as data mining. Data mining utilizes statistical analysis, machine learning, and other advanced analytical techniques to discover hidden patterns or trends within complex data sets. In this context, Keith is specifically analyzing historical sales data to recognize patterns that can inform decision-making and strategy. By engaging in data mining, he can uncover relevant insights that might help improve sales performance or guide future marketing strategies. Other activities mentioned—like data forecasting and sales forecasting—relate to predicting future sales based on historical data but do not focus on the initial discovery of patterns in existing data sets. Marketing decision support systems might aid in decision-making but are broader in scope and not specifically tied to the process of identifying sales patterns within the data.