Data cleansing also referred to as data scrubbing is the process of identifying and correcting or removing inaccurate or corrupt records from the database, table or record sets. This process identifies the inaccurate, incorrect or incomplete parts of the data and replaces, deletes or modifies them appropriately. It is essential for all the companies to keep on top of their databases so as to make an efficient contact with their customers. Therefore one should be aware of how to do data cleansing.
Listed below are a few efficient tips that would help you with data cleansing appropriately.
Scrutinize your Business Records
In case you have been wondering as to how to do data cleansing, this process would help you in finding all the databases that you have been using. Can all those be combined into a single CMS record? If it cannot be created, it is advisable to create a procedure which would ensure that the changes made in any one of the databases would be reflected in others too. Also, it is a great idea to make a copy of the worksheet of your dataset as while data cleansing you would be changing the data and you should be able to undo any of the errors that you might have made.
Do the Data Cleansing In a Different Worksheet
While you are cleaning an individual data column, you are going to need several tools that are built in Excel like Find and Replace. If you insert in the wrong information in here, errors would be introduced across the whole dataset. Therefore, when you are cleaning a single data column, it is a great idea to copy that particular column into a different worksheet and then work on it there itself. You can rename it to Spare Sheet and then when you have finished your work, you can copy and replace it with the previous column.
Reporting Errors Back to the Initial Source
It obviously makes no sense to cleanse the data if the same data requires cleansing in the exact same way over and over again. In case you are using a shared dataset like a departmental dataset, you need to ensure that you report back to the initial or the initial source any of the errors that you may have found. This means that the next time you need to scrutinize more data from the exact same source, you would have much lesser cleaning to do.
Avoid Short Cuts
As they say, that there are no shortcuts to success. This is what implies here too. You need to ensure that each of the data is correct by checking it properly. This can either be done via an email or direct mail. However, the response rates are generally low. Also, it might be possible that the postal address or the email address is itself erroneous. You can try checking some of the details online but most of the companies don’t often list the details of their employees on their website.
While cleaning the data, data enhancing should be your aim too. This would help in improving the efficiency and decision-making process.
