SPLK-1002 Advanced Searching and Statistics Practice Question
A web application log contains fields: user, timestamp, response_time. You need to compute the average response time per user, excluding outliers where response_time > 10000ms. Which search produces the correct result?
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
✓
index=web | where response_time < 10000 | stats avg(response_time) by user
It first filters out outliers (response_time < 10000) using the where command, then calculates the average response time per user with stats avg(response_time) by user. This ensures outliers are excluded before the average is computed. Option A is incorrect because it uses if() after stats, which incorrectly modifies the average after it includes outliers. Option B is incorrect because the where clause after stats erroneously filters based on the per-user average itself, not on individual response_time values. Option C is incorrect because eventstats computes an overall average that still includes outliers, and the subsequent filter does not retroactively affect that average.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
index=web | stats avg(response_time) as avg by user | eval avg = if(avg > 10000, null, avg)
Why it's wrong here
The average is still computed including outliers; nullifying the result does not fix it.
- ✗
index=web | stats avg(response_time) by user | where response_time < 10000
Why it's wrong here
The average is computed before filtering, so it includes outliers.
- ✗
index=web | eventstats avg(response_time) as overall_avg | where response_time < 10000 | stats avg(response_time) by user
Why it's wrong here
eventstats computes overall average including outliers, then filter applies to later stats but does not affect the eventstats value.
- ✓
index=web | where response_time < 10000 | stats avg(response_time) by user
Why this is correct
Filters outliers first, then computes average per user.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This SPLK-1002 practice question is part of Courseiva's free Splunk 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 SPLK-1002 exam.