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Data preparation

Time consuming and laborious yet data preparation is critical to any analysis.
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Key concepts and resources

Exclusive Data prep 101
  • Webinar
  • 30 Oct 2019
A Data Analytics Community webinar on data preparation presented by Dr Rob Mastrodomenico.
Preparing data for analysis
  • Website
  • 13 Aug 2014
An online lecture from Dr Meredith Rocci on the data preparation process including data cleaning, impossible values, response sets, missing values and outliers.
Why data preparation shouldn't be overlooked
  • Website
  • 16 Dec 2016
This article looks at how data preparation is the most time-consuming part of analysis. Accurate analysis depends on how well the data has been prepared and managed.

eBooks

The Library & Information Service provides a hand-picked collection of eBooks as a benefit of membership. If you are unable to access an eBook, please see our Help and support or contact library@icaew.com.
Exclusive LIBRARY Data cleaning: a practical perspective
  • 01 Jan 2013
  • Venkatesh Ganti, Anish Das Sarma
This book discusses the goals of data cleaning and includes abstracts of common sets of data cleaning tasks. In particular, the book focuses on an operator-centric approach for developing a data cleaning platform.
Exclusive LIBRARY Guerrilla data analysis using Microsoft Excel: conquering crap data and Excel skirmishes.
  • 01 Mar 2022
  • Oz du Soleil, Bill Jelen
Includes examples and case studies that teach users the tricks for analysing data in Excel.
Exclusive LIBRARY Principles of data wrangling: practical techniques for data preparation
  • 01 Jul 2017
  • Tye Rattenbury, Joseph M. Hellerstein, Jeffrey Heer, Sean Kandel, Connor Carreras
This book walks the reader through the wrangling process by exploring several factors-time, granularity, scope, and structure-that you need to consider as you begin to work with data.
Terms of use

You are permitted to access, download, copy, or print out content from eBooks for your own research or study only, subject to the terms of use set by our suppliers and any restrictions imposed by individual publishers. Please see individual supplier pages for full terms of use.

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Principles and applications

DATA ANALYTICS COMMUNITY Data preparation
  • 28 Sep 2017
  • Galit Shmueli
A video from Professor Galit Shmueli on data preparation. This is part of a series of videos on business analytics using data mining.
DATA ANALYTICS COMMUNITY Data preparation: refining raw data
  • 26 Jun 2017
An independent survey of over 695 BI professionals from a range of industries worldwide. The survey looks at the current thinking on data preparation and focuses on the conditions, benefits and challenges of data preparation.
DATA ANALYTICS COMMUNITY New methods for data preparation, advanced analytics and visual analytics
  • 18 Jul 2016
  • Shaan Misty, Thomas Christian
This video demonstrates the workflow for self-service analytics, including performing basic data blending tasks such as parsing XML data.
DATA ANALYTICS COMMUNITY Preparing data for analysis
  • 13 Aug 2014
  • Meredith Rocci
An online lecture from Dr Meredith Rocci on the data preparation process including data cleaning, impossible values, response sets, missing values and outliers.
DATA ANALYTICS COMMUNITY Six questions to ask when preparing data for analysis
  • 29 Aug 2018
  • Evan Castle
This article provides a checklist for preparing data for analysis. This will help you optimise the process and make sure you have all the important steps and bases covered.
DATA ANALYTICS COMMUNITY Ten mistakes you're probably making in preparing data for analysis
  • 26 Sep 2019
This article helps pinpoint some of the more common mistakes made when preparing data for analysis.
DATA ANALYTICS COMMUNITY Top 21 self-service data preparation tools
  • 26 Sep 2019
This article provides an overview of what self-service data preparation tools can do for you and reviews the leading 21 software packages.
DATA ANALYTICS COMMUNITY Why data preparation shouldn't be overlooked
  • 16 Dec 2016
  • Ashish Sukhadeve
This article looks at how data preparation is the most time-consuming part of analysis. Accurate analysis depends on how well the data has been prepared and managed.
Terms of use

ICAEW accepts no responsibility for the content on any site to which a hypertext link from this site exists. The links are provided ‘as is’ with no warranty, express or implied, for the information provided within them. Please see the full copyright and disclaimer notice.

eLearning courses

DATA ANALYTICS COMMUNITY Getting and cleaning data
  • 18 Oct 2019
This course will cover the basic ways that data can be obtained: from the web, from APIs, from databases and from colleagues in various formats. It will look at the basics of data cleaning and how to make data tidy. The course will also cover the components of a complete data set, including raw data, processing instructions, codebooks and processed data, and the basics needed for collecting, cleaning and sharing data.
DATA ANALYTICS COMMUNITY Importing data in Python (Part 1)
  • 17 Oct 2019
In this course, you will learn the many ways to import data into Python: from flat files such as .txt and .csv; files native to other software such as Excel spreadsheets, Stata, SAS and MATLAB files; and from relational databases such as SQLite and PostgreSQL.
DATA ANALYTICS COMMUNITY Practical data cleaning: 19 essential tips to scrub your dirty data
  • 18 Oct 2019
Practical data cleaning is a thorough introduction to the basics of data cleaning. It is perfect for beginners and takes you through data collection, data cleaning, data classification and data integrity.
Terms of use

ICAEW accepts no responsibility for the content on any site to which a hypertext link from this site exists. The links are provided ‘as is’ with no warranty, express or implied, for the information provided within them. Please see the full copyright and disclaimer notice.

Courses from the ICAEW Academy of Professional Development

LEARNING AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT Introduction to statistical data analysis and trend forecasting | Various dates
  • 27 Mar 2019
  • Academy of Professional Development
This one-day course from ICAEW introduces delegates to statistics and analysis and takes them through the six key concepts that underlie all statistical thinking and analysis: probability, risk, distribution, expectation, variance and correlation. The course shows delegates how to apply these concepts using Microsoft Excel.
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Thought leadership

Our thought leadership is intended to change thinking and behaviour. We want to help our members do their jobs as best they can. Ultimately, this will enable a world of sustainable economies.
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Rodin's The Thinker
Information

Some of the content on this web page was provided by the Chartered Accountants’ Trust for Education and Research, a registered charity, which owns the library and operates it for ICAEW.