Data cleaning
Once processed and organized, the data may be incomplete, contain duplicates, or contain errors. The need for data cleaning will arise from problems in the way that data is entered and stored. Data cleaning is the process of preventing and correcting these errors. Common tasks include record matching, deduplication, and column segmentation.[4] Such data problems can also be identified through a variety of analytical techniques. For example, with financial information, the totals for particular variables may be compared against separately published numbers believed to be reliable.[5]Unusual amounts above or below pre-determined thresholds may also be reviewed. There are several types of data cleaning that depend on the type of data. Quantitative data methods for outlier detection can be used to get rid of likely incorrectly entered data. Textual data spellcheckers can be used to lessen the amount of mistyped words, but it is harder to tell if the words themselves are correct.
