Data Cleaning Reports
A data cleaning report helps you and others understand what was done to make your data accurate and reliable before you start analyzing it. The report documents all the changes and checks made to your data to fix errors, remove duplicates, and make sure everything is consistent and complete. It’s like a “health check” for your data.
Guide to Writing a Data Cleaning Report
Recover from mistakes – Track what was changed in case you need to undo or review it.
Stay consistent – Apply the same fixes to repeated issues.
Inform others – Let teammates know what was cleaned and why.
Assess data quality – Judge if the data source is reliable and flag frequent errors for data engineers.
Data cleaning reports help you:
Here’s a simple structure you can follow:
Project Name or Data Source: Briefly describe the data you started with.
Date and Team: Who cleaned the data and when.
Original Data Summary: How many rows and columns did you start with?
Data Quality Issues Found: List problems like duplicates, missing values, typos, or inconsistent formats.
Steps Taken to Clean the Data: Detail each action, such as:
Removing duplicates
Fixing typos or inconsistent capitalization
Standardizing date or number formats
Handling missing data (e.g., by removing rows, filling in values, or noting them as missing)
Removing irrelevant data
Tools Used: Mention any software or tools (like Excel, Google Sheets, or AI-powered tools) that helped you clean the data.
Results After Cleaning: Summarize the data after cleaning—how many rows and columns remain, and any notable changes.
Validation and Quality Checks: Describe how you checked the data for accuracy and completeness.
Recommendations or Next Steps: Suggest any further actions or monitoring needed.
If you are using Excel or Google Sheets, you can simply use the change log function:
What was changed – Specify the data, file, formula, query, or other component that was modified.
Description – Briefly explain what the change involved.
Date – Note when the change was made.
Changed by – Name the person who made the change.
Approved by – Name the person who reviewed and approved the change.
Version number – Assign a version to help track updates over time.
Reason for change – Explain why the change was necessary.