Given a set of data, what steps would you take to identify whether the data showed linear or exponential growth?

The very first thing to do to identify whether the data showed linear or exponential growth is to plot the data. By plotting the data, you are able to visualize the form or trend of your data. You can also see if your data trend forms a line. If it forms a line, it is linear. If your data shows somehow a rapid increasing magnitude of slope then, it is exponential.