A time series of municipal water usage shows swings that analysts want to interpret as demand changes alone. What should they account for when reading the series?
Select an answer to reveal the explanation.
Short Explanation
Water use dances with weather and holidays, not only with mysterious demand. Read the series with those external drivers in view. Otherwise you invent a story the calendar already explained.
Full Explanation
Time-series interpretation improves when known external drivers—calendar effects, weather, and similar factors—are considered alongside the focal measure. Ignoring those drivers, over-smoothing them away, or leaping to single internal causes without context invites false narratives. Incorporating external drivers is standard analysis technique for municipal usage series.