# The first thing I do when analyzing a SQL table

Here's one of the first things I do with SQL when I want to quickly assess the data quality in a table.

I would run a series of quick COUNTs, testing key attributes of the data, such as key columns being NULL, which can display the distribution of problematic data so it can be processed accordingly.

A good way to ensure data quality in a data pipeline is to have a good look at it in the first place.

![](https://cdn.hashnode.com/res/hashnode/image/upload/v1717621805610/46bca7d8-54be-4a46-8daf-96a870193625.jpeg align="center")

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