DA0-002 Data Acquisition and Preparation Practice Question
A data analyst is evaluating data quality issues during acquisition. Which TWO issues are most likely to arise from merging data from different sources? (Select exactly 2)
⚠ Common exam trap
DA0-002 often tests the difference between data-quality issues (duplicates, formatting) and non-quality concerns (permissions, cost, network), causing candidates to select operational or security issues as data-quality problems.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Duplicate records
Option B (Duplicate records) is correct because merging data from multiple sources commonly produces the same entity appearing in more than one source, and without deduplication via matching keys or fuzzy matching, redundant rows inflate counts and skew analysis. Option E (Formatting inconsistencies) is correct because different sources often represent the same field differently — for example dates as MM/DD/YYYY versus ISO 8601 YYYY-MM-DD, or units in metric versus imperial — requiring normalization before the data can be combined reliably. Option A (User access permissions) is an authorization/security concern rather than a data quality issue arising from the merge itself. Option C (Slow network speed) is a performance/infrastructure factor that affects transfer time, not the quality of the merged data. Option D (High storage cost) is a cost/resource consideration, not a data quality defect introduced by combining sources.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
User access permissions
Why it's wrong here
Access permissions are a security and governance control, not a data quality defect produced by combining sources. It tempts because merged repositories widen exposure, but acquisition quality issues are content-level — mismatched formats, duplicate keys, conflicting definitions — rather than authorisation configuration.
- ✓
Duplicate records
Why this is correct
Merging sources that share overlapping entities, such as the same customer appearing in two systems, produces duplicate records unless deduplication keys are defined. This directly satisfies the stem's constraint of combining data from different sources, where repeated identifiers create redundancy.
- ✗
Slow network speed
Why it's wrong here
Network speed is a performance and infrastructure characteristic, not a data quality issue created by merging sources. It tempts because large transfers between systems can be slow, but acquisition quality problems concern the data's content — inconsistent schemas, duplicates, conflicting values — not transfer throughput.
- ✗
High storage cost
Why it's wrong here
Storage cost is an infrastructure and budget concern, not a data quality defect arising from combining sources. It tempts because merged datasets grow larger, but acquisition quality issues are semantic and structural — conflicting formats, duplicate records, inconsistent definitions — not capacity economics.
- ✓
Formatting inconsistencies
Why this is correct
Different source systems store dates, numbers and codes in their own conventions, so merging them yields formatting inconsistencies that break joins and comparisons. This satisfies the stem's multi-source merge scenario, where no shared schema standardises field representation across the contributing systems.
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JA
Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed September 2026 · checked against the official CompTIA exam blueprint
This DA0-002 practice question is part of Courseiva's free CompTIA certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the DA0-002 exam.