CompTIA Data+ DA0-002 (V2) Practice Question

A pattern (or format) frequency distribution lists every distinct pattern that appears in a column-such as ###-###-####, (###)###-#### or ##########-and reports how many rows match each pattern. That directly quantifies the degree of formatting inconsistency and is therefore the most useful output for deciding on a standardization rule.

The percentage of non-null values measures completeness, not formatting. The distinct-value (cardinality) count shows how many unique phone numbers exist but says nothing about how they are formatted. The average string length could hint at inconsistent formats but cannot show which specific patterns occur or how often, so it is less effective than a pattern distribution.