A figure is only useful if you know what it counts. That’s why every Crunch answer leads with the result and then shows its working: how it understood your question, which rules it counted by, what it couldn’t confirm and what’s still open. Knowing where each of those sits lets you trust a figure quickly — or spot in seconds that it answered a slightly different question from yours.
The parts of an answer
The result comes first. After it, you’ll see some or all of these:
- ↗ — after a figure, this opens the table or chart behind it, so you can see the numbers it came from.
- ⚑ Check before relying on this — what the data could not confirm. Treat anything listed here as a lead to look into, not a settled fact.
- How I read your question — when a word in your question could mean more than one thing, this says which reading Crunch took. It’s the first thing to check.
- How this was counted — the definitions and rules it actually used, so you can see whether they match how your business counts.
- Not established — what it could not answer, why, and what would answer it.
- Where this sits — what is still open and what to ask next.
A good way to read one
- Read the result, so you know what Crunch is claiming.
- Check How I read your question. If the reading is wrong, the rest of the answer is about a different question.
- Look at How this was counted for any figure you plan to repeat to someone else.
- Note any ⚑ Check before relying on this and Not established items before you act on the answer.
- Use Where this sits to pick your next question.
When the reading isn’t what you meant
Say so in one line and ask again — for example, “by visits I mean sessions, not page views.” See Correcting Crunch.
Related
- Correcting Crunch — how to put a misread question back on track in one line.
- Analyst agent — more on each part of an answer.
- Slow, empty or “not established” answers — what to do with a “not established” or a check you can’t resolve.