DP-900 Describe core data concepts Practice Question
A company receives customer order data from its online store in a CSV file. Each line contains fields like OrderID, CustomerName, Product, Quantity, and OrderDate. This data is best described as:
⚠ Common exam trap
Candidates often confuse 'transactional data' (a workload type) with 'structured data' (a format classification), leading them to pick D because the data describes orders, even though the question explicitly asks about the data's format, not its business purpose.
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
✓
Structured data
A is correct because the CSV file contains data that conforms to a strict tabular schema with predefined columns (OrderID, CustomerName, Product, Quantity, OrderDate) and consistent data types per column. This rigid, row-and-column format with a fixed schema is the defining characteristic of structured data, which can be directly loaded into a relational database or Azure SQL Database without transformation.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Structured data
Why this is correct
Structured data is the correct classification because the CSV order file has a predefined tabular schema: a header row defines fixed column names and each subsequent row represents one order with values aligned to those columns. Because every record follows the same field order and logical data types, it can be loaded directly into a relational table and queried with SQL, which are the hallmarks of structured data.
- ✗
Semi-structured data
Why it's wrong here
Semi-structured data is incorrect because it relies on self-describing tags or key-value markers, such as JSON or XML, and allows nested, variable-shaped records. A CSV file is flat and rigid: the header row fixes the schema, every row must contain values for those columns, and there are no embedded tags or markers that describe the data per row, so it does not qualify as semi-structured.
- ✗
Unstructured data
Why it's wrong here
Unstructured data is incorrect because it has no predefined data model, no column or field boundaries, and cannot be easily parsed into rows and columns—examples include images, audio, and free-text documents. A CSV file is explicitly organized into delimited columns and rows with a header row, so its structure is defined by the file format, making it structured rather than unstructured.
- ✗
Transactional data
Why it's wrong here
Transactional data is incorrect because that label refers to how the data is used—capturing a business event such as an online order—not to the file's structural format. Although each row in the CSV may represent a transaction, the question asks for the broad data classification, and the correct taxonomy is structured data, not transactional data, which is a workload or usage category rather than a storage format.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Data Roles and Core Concepts
Key term
Schema
A schema is a blueprint or logical structure that defines how data is organized, stored, and accessed in a database or information system.
Key term
Data
Data is raw, unprocessed information, like numbers, words, or measurements, that can be stored, processed, and analyzed by computers.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
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