Scribd
Upload
333 views12 pages

Data Cleaning in Excel

Uploaded by

Joseph Nkomo
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
333 views12 pages

Data Cleaning in Excel

Uploaded by

Joseph Nkomo
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 12

The Fundamental Guide to

Data Cleaning
in Excel
02 codebasics.io

INTRODUCTION
Data is a fundamental element in every industry today, and the quality of
your data significantly impacts the reliability of the insights you derive from
it.

Excel remains a popular tool used by many for a variety of tasks, including
data analysis, financial modeling, and more. Its comprehensive set of
features ensures that users can maintain clean and reliable data.

Interestingly, many of us overlooked Excel in school, not realizing its value.


Yet, as we dive into data analytics, the significance of Excel becomes clear,
making it an essential tool in our professional toolkit.

This guide teaches beginners easy data cleaning methods in Excel, with
clear examples for quick application and results.
03 codebasics.io

1 Finding Duplicates
Duplicates can mess up your analysis by giving you wrong results.
Excel can help you find and get rid of these repeated entries, making
sure your data is unique.

Example:
Imagine you have a list of email addresses, and some are repeated.
Excel can find these repeats for you.

How to Do It:

Choose the column with


emails, click on 'Data' >
'Remove Duplicates', and then
hit OK. Excel will delete the
repeats, leaving only one of
each.
04 codebasics.io

2 Dealing with Missing Data


Missing data can ruin your analysis. Excel lets you spot these gaps
and fill them in.

Example:
If your sales data has missing values, there are several techniques to
address them, such as using mean, median, standard values, or more
sophisticated methods. The best approach depends on the specific
context of your business data.

How to Do It:
Use functions like “IF” or use “Go To Special” (Ctrl+G) to find and
replace empty spots with an average number or a note like "No Data."
05 codebasics.io

3 Removing Empty Cells


Empty cells can cause problems when you're analyzing your data.
Getting rid of them or filling them in is important.

Example:
If some cells under "Product Code" are empty, you'll need to fill or
remove these.

How to Do It:

To remove rows with


empty cells, use “Go To
Special” > “Blanks”,
select these empty cells,
and delete them.
06 codebasics.io

4 Splitting Text into Columns


This feature divides the contents of one cell into several based on a
certain separator, making your data easier to handle.

Example:
You have full names in one cell and want to split them into first and
last names.

How to Do It:

Select the column, go to 'Data' > 'Text to Columns', pick “Delimited”,


choose your separator (like a space), and set where you want the new
data to go.
07 codebasics.io

5 Fixing Text Format


If your text isn't formatted consistently (like some being in all caps),
it can be hard to work with. Making all text look the same helps keep
things neat.

Example:
Some names are all uppercase, others are lowercase or mixed.

How to Do It:

Use functions like UPPER,


LOWER, or PROPER to make the
text uniform. For instance,
=PROPER(A1) changes text in
cell A1 to have only the first
letter of each word capitalized.
08 codebasics.io

6 Using Find and Replace


This tool lets you quickly find certain words and replace them with
others, which helps keep your data consistent.

Example:
If "Manager" is often misspelled as "Manger," you can fix it
throughout your dataset.

Press Ctrl+H, type "Manger" in "Find what" and "Manager" in "Replace


with," then click "Replace All."
09 codebasics.io

7 Getting Rid of Extra Spaces


Extra spaces, especially before and after text, can cause issues.
Excel's TRIM function is great for cleaning these up.

Example:
There are unwanted spaces around some words in a column.

How to Do It:
Use =TRIM(A1), which removes extra spaces from around the text in
cell A1.
10 codebasics.io

8 Combining Data
Sometimes, you need to put data from several cells into one, or
combine data from different sheets. This makes your data easier to
manage.

Example:
You need to combine first and last names into one full name.

How to Do It:
Use the CONCATENATE function or the “&” operator, like =A1 & " " & B1,
to merge data from cells A1 and B1 with a space between them.
11 codebasics.io

CONCLUSION
While cleaning data in Excel can be effective for one-time tasks, wouldn't it
be amazing to automate the process for future datasets? Enter Power
Query! This powerful tool lets you clean data efficiently and consistently,
saving you time and ensuring clean data for every analysis. Stay tuned for
our upcoming resource on Power Query for data cleaning – it'll revolutionize
your workflow!
E n a b l i n g C a r e e r s

Found this interesting?


To gain access to more valuable content,
join our WhatsApp Channel

SCAN TO JOIN

codebasics.io

You might also like