Analyzing data is one of today's hot topics. A complete list of fields of research and buzzwords associated with automatic analysis would extend beyond this document. The importance of this topic stems from the amount of data currently produced in research, engineering, and other fields. The size of these data sets renders manual analysis infeasible. Automatic analysis methods are required to cope with the data sets produced. The algorithms for filtering, categorization, and analysis have a long tradition and are manifold. This raises the question for the best algorithm. The authors of this paper give an overview about manifold automatic analysis approaches along with a classification of these approaches with regard to three different fields of research.