Mike Bryon - How to Pass Data Interpretation Tests: Unbeatable Practice for Numerical and Quantitative Reasoning and Problem Solving Tests

The test may feature as a standalone assessment or one of a series of sub-tests taken one after the other. Nowadays the majority of recruitment processes will include a data interpretation test. These tests present you with a series of sets of data made up of, for example, a table, passage, graph or chart. The subject of the majority of these data sets will relate to the workplace and to business. However, expect the unexpected, because the subject can be drawn from every and any discipline. In many instances the data comprise a multiple of data sets and in many instances a passage of information setting the context.

In some tests the amount of data presented is extensive and much is irrelevant, so you must filter through the material quickly to find the relevant items. Every set of data is followed by a series of questions, each with a list of suggested answers. You have to sift through this information, combining relevant data from the respective sources, and select one of the suggested answers. In order to identify the correct answer you have to demonstrate good judgement and undertake calculations. You are expected to answer the questions using only the information contained in the data set. Be careful if you know something about the subject or if you believe the data to be factually incorrect, controversial or out of date.

It is not a test of your general knowledge, your knowledge of the last findings in the discipline or your political views. So feel completely as ease about answering a question using the data provided, even if you believe they are false given what you learnt at university or read in a newspaper that morning. If you face a data interpretation test online or administered at a computer screen then be aware that diagrams on the computer screen can sometimes appear misleading, especially in the case of geometric shapes, tables and graphs, as the screen in some instances can distort the image or the scale or both! The test author is aware of this and will have provided sufficient information to arrive at the answer. So if you are unlucky enough to find a distorted image or find its scale hard to read then rely on the written information and avoid drawing unnecessary assumptions about the appearance of a diagram, table or graph on the screen. For example, if a shape is described as a cube but on the screen the sides do not all seem equal, ignore it and treat the shape as a cube. Equally, if a table or graph says that quantity x is the largest but on the screen it looks like quantity y is the same or in fact bigger, take no notice and treat quantity x as the largest.

If until now you have struggled with maths and you have to pass such a test to realize your career or educational goal then it is time to get down to some serious score-improving practice. Everyone can rise to the challenge and master these questions some have to practise more than others. A few will have to show a great deal of determination and work very hard. This book is suitable for all levels from intermediate to advanced. You will find hundreds more practice questions in the following titles from the Kogan Page testing series: More at the intermediate level: The Numeracy Test Workbook Ultimate Psychometric Tests The Verbal Reasoning Test Workbook How to Pass Diagrammatic Reasoning Tests At the advanced level: How to Pass Advanced Numeracy Tests, Revised Edition How to Pass Graduate Psychometric Tests, 3rd Edition The Graduate Psychometric Test Workbook The Advanced Numeracy Test Workbook, 2nd Edition How To Pass Advanced Verbal Reasoning Tests If you face a data interpretation test as a part of a recruitment process then expect lots of other people to have applied also. In these circumstances treat the test as a competition and set out to achieve the best score possible.