---
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title: Understanding Data Exploration and Best Practices
collection: admin
version: current
locale: en-us
portal_url: https://docs.salesforce.com/admin/current/en-us/analytics/264-0-0/bi_mobile_understand_intro.md
canonical_url: https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=analytics.bi_mobile_understand_intro.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5
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content_type: documentation
content_hash: 5b8063cd06b5c522ac127ea7e55fee38873d8ebf2e7ee01b16bb44b2ad745011
description: Before diving into your data, familiarize yourself with useful tips, learn about different kinds of data collections, and review important data exploration concepts.
products:
  - CRM Analytics
  - Cross Cloud
release: "264"
---
# Understanding Data Exploration and Best Practices

Before diving into your data, familiarize yourself with useful tips, learn about different kinds of data collections, and review important data exploration concepts.

- **[Explore and Visualize Your Data Interactively](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=analytics.bi_explorer_process.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5)**  
    Data exploration is an iterative process. It typically involves these steps: view, explore, refine, save, and share.
- **[Collections of Data in CRM Analytics](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=analytics.bi_explorer_data_collections.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5)**  
    CRM Analytics collects and organizes your data in datasets, lenses, dashboard, and apps. These collections, also known as “CRM Analytics assets,” represent levels of data refinement—from raw data that’s uploaded from your source systems to highly curated, packaged views of your data.
- **[Data Exploration Concepts](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=analytics.bi_explorer_exploration_concepts.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5)**  
    As you learn how to explore and visualize your data, it’s helpful to review key concepts such as visualization, measure, and dimension.
- **[Analytics Glossary](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=analytics.bi_glossary.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5)**  
    Familiarize yourself with common Analytics terminology.