Intelligent Support for Exploratory Data Analysis

Exploratory data analysis (EDA) is as much a matter of strategy as of selecting speci c statistical operations. We have developed a knowledge-based planning system, called Aide, to help users with EDA. Aide strikes a balance between conventional statistical packages, which need guidance for every step in the exploration, and autonomous systems, which leave the user entirely out of the decision-making process. Aide's processing is based on arti cial intelligence planning techniques, which give us a useful means of representing some types of statistical strategy. In this article we describe the design of Aide and its behavior in exploring a small, complex dataset.