- A
Employee records: structured, Employee handbooks: semi-structured, Customer feedback: unstructured
Why wrong: Handbooks as PDF files have no internal schema, so they are unstructured, not semi-structured. Customer feedback as XML has tags and a loose structure, making it semi-structured, not unstructured.
- B
Employee records: structured, Employee handbooks: unstructured, Customer feedback: semi-structured
Correct classification: employee records in a relational table are structured; PDF handbooks are unstructured; XML feedback is semi-structured due to its hierarchical tags.
- C
Employee records: semi-structured, Employee handbooks: unstructured, Customer feedback: structured
Why wrong: Employee records have a fixed schema, so they are structured, not semi-structured. Customer feedback in XML is semi-structured, not structured.
- D
Employee records: unstructured, Employee handbooks: semi-structured, Customer feedback: structured
Why wrong: Employee records in a relational table are structured, not unstructured. Handbooks as PDF files are unstructured, not semi-structured. Customer feedback in XML is semi-structured, not structured.
DP-900 Describe core data concepts Practice Question
This DP-900 practice question tests your understanding of describe core data concepts. Read the scenario carefully and evaluate each option against the stated constraints before committing to an answer. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
A company stores employee records in a relational database table with columns EmployeeID, FirstName, LastName, Department. They also store employee handbooks as PDF files, and customer feedback as XML documents. Which of the following correctly classifies these data types?
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
Employee records: structured, Employee handbooks: unstructured, Customer feedback: semi-structured
Option B is correct because employee records in a relational database table have a fixed schema (columns and data types), making them structured data. Employee handbooks stored as PDF files have no internal schema and are binary blobs, classifying them as unstructured data. Customer feedback stored as XML documents have a flexible, self-describing schema with tags, making them semi-structured data.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Employee records: structured, Employee handbooks: semi-structured, Customer feedback: unstructured
Why it's wrong here
Handbooks as PDF files have no internal schema, so they are unstructured, not semi-structured. Customer feedback as XML has tags and a loose structure, making it semi-structured, not unstructured.
- ✓
Employee records: structured, Employee handbooks: unstructured, Customer feedback: semi-structured
Why this is correct
Correct classification: employee records in a relational table are structured; PDF handbooks are unstructured; XML feedback is semi-structured due to its hierarchical tags.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Employee records: semi-structured, Employee handbooks: unstructured, Customer feedback: structured
Why it's wrong here
Employee records have a fixed schema, so they are structured, not semi-structured. Customer feedback in XML is semi-structured, not structured.
- ✗
Employee records: unstructured, Employee handbooks: semi-structured, Customer feedback: structured
Why it's wrong here
Employee records in a relational table are structured, not unstructured. Handbooks as PDF files are unstructured, not semi-structured. Customer feedback in XML is semi-structured, not structured.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is confusing semi-structured data (which has some organizational properties like tags in XML) with unstructured data (which has no inherent structure), leading candidates to misclassify PDFs as semi-structured or XML as structured.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Structured data conforms to a rigid schema (e.g., SQL tables with fixed columns like EmployeeID INT), enabling efficient indexing and ACID transactions. Semi-structured data (e.g., XML) uses tags or attributes to describe the data, allowing schema-on-read flexibility but requiring parsing (e.g., XPath queries). Unstructured data (e.g., PDF) lacks a predefined data model, often stored as BLOBs in databases or in object storage like Azure Blob Storage, and requires full-text search or AI for analysis.
KKey Concepts to Remember
- Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
- Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.
TExam Day Tips
- Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
- Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
A media company stores terabytes of video archives that are accessed once a year for audit purposes. Moving these objects to a cold storage tier (Azure Archive, S3 Glacier, or Google Nearline) costs a fraction of hot storage. Questions like this test whether you understand storage tiers, access frequency tradeoffs, and retrieval latency requirements.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this DP-900 question test?
Describe core data concepts — This question tests Describe core data concepts — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Employee records: structured, Employee handbooks: unstructured, Customer feedback: semi-structured — Option B is correct because employee records in a relational database table have a fixed schema (columns and data types), making them structured data. Employee handbooks stored as PDF files have no internal schema and are binary blobs, classifying them as unstructured data. Customer feedback stored as XML documents have a flexible, self-describing schema with tags, making them semi-structured data.
What should I do if I get this DP-900 question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jun 11, 2026
This DP-900 practice question is part of Courseiva's free Microsoft 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 DP-900 exam.
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