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Data Cleaning in Excel 101, Part 6: How to Remove Duplicates

Posted on May 27, 2020
by Kristen Halsey and Jacob Joseph

In this part of our data cleaning series, we’ll help you find and remove duplicate entries in Excel. Repeats are a very common data entry mistake or error from a data pull. Duplicates in your data can create a variety of unfortunate consequences in administrative duties and analysis. Worst of all, they lead to a real misrepresentation of your results.This is Part 6 in our Data Cleaning in Excel 101 series. Part 1 showed methods of removing blank rows from your data. Part 2 focuses on splitting data from one cell to multiple cells. Part 3 covers the opposite: combining data from multiple columns into one column. In Part 4, we discussed some incredibly useful and time-saving tricks with Excel’s “Flash Fill” function. Part 5 covers solutions for when your...

Data Cleaning in Excel 101, Part 5: Numbers That Don’t Act Like Numbers and Leading Zeros

Posted on May 18, 2020
by Jacob Joseph and Kristen Halsey

Ever try to do a calculation with numbers in Excel and get an error or the numbers don't seem to be adding up? Ever fight with ZIP code formatting? Below you can find some methods of dealing with numbers that just aren't acting like numbers. We’ll also review some instances in which you’ll actually want Excel to store numbers as text, and how to convert them.This is Part 5 in our Data Cleaning in Excel 101 series. Part 1 showed methods of removing blank rows from your data. Part 2 focuses on splitting data from one cell to multiple cells. Part 3 covers the opposite: combining data from multiple columns into one column. In Part 4, we discussed some incredibly useful and time-saving tricks with Excel’s “Flash Fill” function.Numbers that...

Data Cleaning in Excel 101, Part 4: More Uses for Flash Fill

Posted on May 12, 2020
by Kristen Halsey and Jacob Joseph

Having the right data in the right columns to meet specific requirements for your analysis plays a major role in the data cleaning process. In Parts 2, 3, and 4 of our Data Cleaning in Excel series, we’ll show you how to solve common issues by utilizing both standard and Excel’s powerful “Flash Fill” shortcut.Part 2 focuses on splitting data from one cell to multiple cells. Part 3 covers the opposite: combining data from multiple columns into one column. Here, in Part 4, we’ll showcase some incredibly useful and time-saving tricks with the mystical powers of Excel’s “Flash Fill” function.Flash Fill is the mind-reading short-cut us data folks have been waiting for. It works by analyzing your data entries, detecting a pattern, and then filling in the rest for you.Here,...

Data Cleaning in Excel 101, Part 3: How to Combine Columns in Excel

Posted on May 4, 2020
by Kristen Halsey and Jacob Joseph

Having the right data in the right columns to meet specific requirements for your analysis plays a major role in the data cleaning process. In Parts 2, 3, and 4 of our Data Cleaning in Excel series, we’ll show you how to solve common issues by utilizing both standard and Excel’s powerful “Flash Fill” shortcut.Part 2 focuses on splitting data from one cell to multiple cells. Here, in Part 3, we’ll cover the opposite: combining data from multiple columns into one column. Coming up in Part 4, we’ll showcase some incredibly useful and time-saving tricks with the mystical powers of Excel’s “Flash Fill” function.Combining Data from Multiple ColumnsIn our last blog post, we went over how to break apart data that has been exported into just one cell. What about...

What’s Better, Faster, and Cheaper than a New Data System?

Posted on April 28, 2020
by Jacob Joseph

“We need a new data system”. The stuff of dreams and nightmares. Whether you aren’t storing the right data in your system, or you can’t get what you want out of it, you either have considered a new data system, or you were in the process of implementing one.So you got everyone on board, figured out what you needed out of a data system, did an inventory of your current systems, lined up the funding, and then …coronavirus. There’s a lot of uncertainty going around. We don’t know whether we need to disinfect our mail. We’re not sure how often (or whether) we should be going to the grocery store. No one can say for sure whether this pandemic has peaked or not or when the second wave will be....

Data Cleaning in Excel 101, Part 2: How to Split Columns in Excel.

Posted on April 21, 2020
by Kristen Halsey and Jacob Joseph

Having the right data in the right columns to meet specific requirements for your analysis plays a major role in the data cleaning process. Over the next 3 parts in our Data Cleaning in Excel series, we’ll show you how to solve common issues by utilizing both standard and Excel’s powerful “Flash Fill” shortcut. Part 2 focuses on splitting data from one cell to multiple cells. Part 3 covers the opposite: combining data from multiple columns into one column. Part 4 showcases some incredibly useful and time-saving things you can do with the mystical powers of Excel’s “Flash Fill” function.Classic Methods and an Introduction to Excel’s Magical Mind-Reading Shortcut “Flash Fill”While straightening up datasets, you may encounter cells containing text strings of data that need to be organized into multiple...

Four Ways to Further Your Data Analysis Right Now

Posted on April 14, 2020
by Taj Carson

At the risk of adding more peer pressure to be productive right now, I wanted to propose to those of you responsible for the data maturity of your organization (this includes CTOs, CIOs, database managers, data analysts, and other data nerds) that there ARE things you can do right now, in the middle of all this, that will make your organization stronger when it’s all over. You might be feeling like you can’t possibly move forward with anything data-related, because of the uncertainty ahead. But, this could be the perfect time to tackle things you normally don’t have time for. Consider doing one of the following things if:You have data. You aren’t sure how clean it is. You KNOW it’s not that clean. You have a backlog of “data projects”...

Data Cleaning in Excel 101, Part 1: How to Delete Empty Rows in Excel!

Posted on April 14, 2020
by Kristen Halsey and Jacob Joseph

At Inciter, we use many tools to clean data. Google Sheets and Excel are widely available and powerful tools for basic data cleaning of small to medium data sets. In this series, we will describe different methods for cleaning data that have common problems such as blank rows, duplicates, multiple values in one column, data split into too many columns, leading zeroes, numbers that don’t act like numbers, basic data recoding, and comparing two versions of a spreadsheet. Method #1: Sort them out.Excel’s column sort function won’t order blank cells. If it makes sense to organize your data by a certain column, (i.e. date from newest to oldest), you can sort the entire sheet and watch the completely blank rows fall off. Just be sure all of your data is...

How to Feel Better. Just a Little.

Posted on March 24, 2020
by Taj Carson

I’ve always been fascinated with neuroscience and how our brains work. Mine, especially. So last year, because I apparently can’t stop going back to school, I got a certificate in brain-based coaching from the Neuroleadership Institute. What I learned there about how our brains work got me thinking about how they are responding to the current situation with COVID-19. I thought it might be helpful to share some reasons why you may be feeling the way you are (aside from the obvious) and present just a few things you could do to help your brain calm down, and to help you and everyone around you feel a bit better while getting through this pandemic. To get extra help and insight, I contacted Dr. Fran Appler, a licensed psychologist who has...

When Is Building a Form the Wrong Answer?

Posted on February 17, 2020
by Taj Carson

One of our core values here at Inciter is “Get it Done”. When our clients email us, we email them back. When they have a problem, whether it’s a messy data set or help thinking through their data strategy, we show up. So when a client that is using our data system asked me the other day to build a form for them, my first thought was, “You’ve got it!”. I asked them what the form should look like, and thought about how it connected to the rest of their data. Not just the data in our system but all the data they collect and use. This client is part of a collaborative effort that involves many other nonprofit organizations and government agencies. They all have to work together not only...

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