The fact is data quality will directly affect the ability to reliably predict—using IBM Watson Analytics or otherwise—any outcome. In attempt to ensure that a prediction is as good (or as strong) as it can be, Watson Analytics uses a calculated representation of its assessment of the data being used. This is known as the data quality score.

The data quality score is measured on a scale of 0-100 (with 100 representing the highest possible data quality). The data quality score for a data file is computed by averaging the data quality score for every field in the dataset.

When a prediction is generated by Watson Analytics, the data quality score for the data used in the prediction is displayed at the top of the Top Predictors page, like this:

In the preceding screenshot, we can see that our project's data is considered Good. Well, Good is Good, but Good is not Excellent. To see why Watson Analytics has assigned that score, you can click on the View link under the score text:

There are 36 issues with your data, click below to learn more this will allow you to view the Data Quality Report. The next section of this chapter will provide some explanation of this report in more detail.