Data Engineering Associate with Databricks Practice Exam

Which action can be taken if a data engineer discovers a significant number of invalid records?

1. Ignore them to facilitate quicker processing.

2. Analyze and adjust the input data or constraints accordingly.

3. Delete all invalid records immediately.

4. Maintain them for future reference.

The correct answer is: Analyze and adjust the input data or constraints accordingly.

Analyzing and adjusting the input data or constraints is a vital action when confronted with a significant number of invalid records. This approach allows the data engineer to identify the root causes of the invalid records, which could be due to various reasons such as misconfigured data schemas, unexpected data formats, or inconsistencies in the data source. By understanding these issues, the data engineer can implement the necessary changes in the data processing pipeline or modify the validation constraints to ensure that similar issues do not recur in the future. Furthermore, this action promotes data quality and integrity in the long run, as it ensures the system can more accurately handle valid data and reject only truly invalid entries, rather than discarding potentially useful information. Adjusting the constraints could lead to more robust data collection methods and improved operational processes. Overall, taking a proactive stance toward data quality is essential for any data engineering role, especially in environments where accurate data analysis and reporting are critical.