Claude for Analysis: Data, Documents and Research
You upload files, analyze data and do research with Claude.
Why this lesson matters
You have an Excel file with 10,000 rows of sales data. An 80-page report you need to summarise. Three quotes you want to compare. Two contracts where you need to find the differences.
This used to take hours. Now you upload it to Claude and get an analysis, summary or comparison within minutes. But only if you know how to get the most out of Claude's analysis capabilities.
This lesson shows you how to use Claude as your personal analyst, for data, documents and research.
Uploading files: what can Claude process?
Claude can process a wide range of file types directly:
| Type | Formats | What Claude can do with it |
|---|---|---|
| Documents | PDF, Word, TXT | Summarise, analyse, answer questions |
| Data | CSV, Excel, JSON | Find patterns, calculations, visualisations |
| Code | All languages | Review, debugging, refactoring |
| Images | PNG, JPG, WebP | Describe, extract text, analyse |
Upload files via the paperclip in the chat interface or drag them into the window. In Claude Code you simply use the file path, Claude reads it straight from your disk.
Analysing data: from spreadsheet to insight
Claude's strength for data analysis lies in the combination of understanding and calculating. You don't need to know formulas or build pivot tables.
Step 1: Upload your data
Upload a CSV or Excel file to Claude.
Step 2: Ask for an overview
Analyse this file. Give me:
1. An overview of the structure (columns, number of rows, data types)
2. Basic statistics per numeric column
3. The 3 most striking patterns in the data
4. Possible data quality issuesKeep reading
Leave your name and email address and you can read the rest
You get the whole lesson right away, and every other lesson stays open after that. No password, no confirmation email.
Step 3: Ask targeted follow-up questions
Which product category has the highest growth compared to last year?
Are there months with noticeably lower sales?
Make a top 10 of customers based on total revenue.Always start with a broad overview before you go deep. Claude often spots patterns you wouldn't have looked for yourself, so give it room to mention them.
Summarising documents
Claude can summarise long documents at exactly the level of detail you need. The key is being specific about your goal.
Bad:
Summarise this document.Good:
Summarise this annual report for the management team.
Focus on: financial highlights, strategic risks, and planned investments.
Format: a maximum of 10 bullet points, grouped by theme.
Mention specific figures where relevant.You can have the same document summarised for different audiences, the board (strategy), sales (market trends), IT (technology), each with its own focus and level of detail.
Comparing documents
One of the most powerful yet least used features: upload two or more documents and let Claude find the differences.
I'm uploading two versions of our service contract. Compare them and give me:
1. All substantive changes (beyond wording alone)
2. New clauses that were added
3. Clauses that were removed or weakened
4. A risk assessment: which changes work against us?Claude is an excellent first layer of analysis. It doesn't replace legal or financial advice. Use the output as the starting point for a conversation with a specialist, and leave the final verdict to them.
Other comparison tasks:
- Put two quotes side by side
- Identify differences between policy versions
- Competitor analysis based on public documents
Making use of the context window
The context window is everything the model can read in one go: your question, the documents you send along, and the conversation up to that point. The bigger that window, the more you can handle in one session.
| Tokens | Equivalent | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 10,000 | ~25 pages | A report or whitepaper |
| 50,000 | ~125 pages | A complete policy plan |
| 100,000 | ~250 pages | Several reports at once |
| 200,000 | ~500 pages | A complete book or large dataset |
| 1,000,000 | ~2,500 pages | A whole project folder or codebase |
Tips to get the most out of the context window:
- 1Upload several related documents at once, Claude can find connections between documents
- 2Give explicit instructions about what you're looking for, more context doesn't automatically mean better
- 3Use phased analysis, ask for an overview first, then details on specific parts
- 4Refer to specific sections, "In chapter 3 you mention..." works very well
Practice exercise
Try these three tasks:
- 1Data: Download a public dataset (from CBS.nl, for example) and ask Claude to identify the main trends
- 2Summarising: Upload a long report and have Claude write three summaries for different audiences
- 3Comparing: Take two versions of a document and have Claude analyse the changes
What is the context window of an AI model?
What is the best approach to have a large document analysed?
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