Data organization

Checking whether the bills and sponsors intermediate datasets conform to Karl Broman's advice on organising spreadsheet data.

Boxes are checked when the advice is fully applied. A few items are unchecked because each country uses its own names for bill and sponsor variables in the CSV datasets. Network attributes, however, are fully standardised.

• Consistency:
  • Use consistent codes for categorical variables
  • Use a single fixed code for any missing values
  • Use consistent variable names
  • Use consistent subject IDs
  • Use a common data layout in multiple files
  • Use consistent file names
  • Use a single common format for all dates
  • Use consistent phrases in your notes
  • Be careful about extra spaces within cells
• Write dates as YYYY-MM-DD
• No empty cells
• Put just one thing in a cell
• Make it a rectangle
• Create a data dictionary
• No calculations in the raw data files
• Don't use font color or highlighting as data
• Choose good names for things
• Make backups
• Use data validation to avoid errors
• Save the data in plain text files
• Other things to avoid
  • Beware of long integers turning to scientific notation
  • Avoid screen splits
  • Fill in all zeroes