Part I: Introduction to Informatica Data Explorer > Data Discovery > Data Discovery Overview
  

Data Discovery Overview

Data discovery is the process of discovering the metadata of source systems that include content and structure. Content refers to data values, frequencies, and datatypes. Structure includes candidate keys, primary keys, foreign keys, and functional dependencies. You can create and run profiles to discover the content and structure of data sources.
You can define a profile to analyze data in a single data object or across multiple data objects. Add comments to profiles so that you can track the profiling process effectively.
Run a profile to evaluate the data structure and to verify that data columns contain the types of information you expect. You can drill down on data rows in profiled data. If the profile results reveal problems in the data, you can apply rules to fix the result set. You can create scorecards to track and measure data quality before and after you apply the rules. If the external source metadata of a profile or scorecard changes, you can synchronize the changes with its data object in Informatica Data Explorer.