Database Analyst Interview Preparation Guide
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Database Analyst related Frequently Asked Questions by expert members with professional career as Database Analyst. These list of interview questions and answers will help you strengthen your technical skills, prepare for the new job interview and quickly revise your concepts

61 Database Analyst Questions and Answers:

1 :: Tell me what is the IN operator?

IN is a conditional operator used in a WHERE clause and is shorthand for multiple OR conditional statements. It tests the expression that precedes it against a list of values that are passed in to the operator, which can either be comma-separated values or a subquery that returns a list of values. If the expression that precedes IN matches any of the elements in the list, the resulting value is TRUE, or 1; otherwise, the value is FALSE, or 0.

2 :: Please explain what is the difference between UNION and UNION ALL?

UNION will omit duplicate records, whereas UNION ALL will include duplicate records. UNION requires the server to do the additional work of removing any duplicates.

3 :: Explain me about a time when you could not meet a deadline?

This question gets into how well candidates handle stressful situations. You're looking for a data analyst who can anticipate when a deadline is not going to work and who can find a solution. Past behavior is a good predictor of future behavior.

What to look for in an answer:

☛ Ability to see big picture
☛ Decisiveness and being proactive
☛ Answers that do not blame others

4 :: Tell us why did you go into data analysis?

This query is a good way to get to know candidates as people. It can serve as an icebreaker at the beginning of an interview or, if it comes at the end, as a gentle way to bring your question portion to a close.

What to look for in an answer:

☛ Focused replies
☛ Personality
☛ Specifics

5 :: Tell us when might someone denormalize their data?

Typically done for performance reasons, to reduce the number of table joins. This is not a good idea in a transactional environment as there are inherent data integrity risks or performance risks due to excessive locking to maintain data integrity.

Questions related to the Unified Modeling Language (UML) or Entity-Relationship Diagrams (ERDs) may also be asked here.

6 :: Can you explain validation?

In this step, the model provided by the client and the model developed by the data analyst are validated against each other to find out if the developed model will meet the business requirements.

7 :: Can you explain me what is SQL?

SQL is short for Structured Query Language and is used to communicate with relational databases. It is the standard language used to retrieve, update, insert, and delete data when working with relational databases.

8 :: Tell me what is a primary key?

A primary key is a unique identifier for a particular record in a table. The primary key can’t be NULL. A primary key can be a single column or a combination of columns in a table. Each table can contain only one primary key.

9 :: Tell me what kind of data analysis software experience do you possess?

I have advanced data analysis software experience. A few examples include creating PivotTables in Excel, producing databases from scratch in Access, and developing data mining algorithms in ELKI. Also in my previous role, I was tasked with upgrading the database to meet the demands of the market and the company to ensure it ran smoothly.

10 :: What is implementation of the Model and Tracking?

This is the final step of the data analysis process wherein the model is implemented in production and is tested for accuracy and efficiency.