What are common pitfalls when using time series data for forecasting?

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What are common pitfalls when using time series data for forecasting?

Asked on Jan 13, 2026

Answer

When using time series data for forecasting, common pitfalls include failing to account for seasonality, ignoring non-stationarity, and overlooking data quality issues. It's crucial to apply appropriate preprocessing steps and choose models that can handle these characteristics effectively.

Example Concept: Time series forecasting often requires addressing seasonality and trends, which can be achieved by using models like ARIMA or seasonal decomposition techniques. Non-stationarity, where statistical properties change over time, can be managed through differencing or transformation. Additionally, ensuring data quality by handling missing values and outliers is essential to improve forecast accuracy.

Additional Comment:

Ensure data is stationary by using techniques like differencing or transformation.
Account for seasonality using models like SARIMA or by including seasonal dummy variables.
Check for and handle missing data and outliers to maintain data integrity.
Validate models with out-of-sample testing to ensure robustness.
Consider external factors or exogenous variables that might influence the time series.

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