Data vetting and preparation

When you send your data to the Infobase team, we will look at the data structure and format to ensure it’s machine-readable before we proceed.

Include all necessary data

• Make sure that your data source is robust and trustworthy
• Make sure you have all the data necessary to create the desired data visualization. Use data exploration tools to help you find holes in your data
• Remove any data that is not needed

Data format

• Only include one value per cell. Each category should be in its own column. This makes it easier to work with the data and create visualizations:

  Incorrect

  Male - Percent
  77.3

  Correct

  Sex	Percent
  Masculine	77.3

• Format all dates in the same way, ideally yyyy-mm-dd
• Don’t apply any formatting to numbers (for example, 2000 instead of 2,000)
• Be consistent in data formatting throughout the file
• We may sometimes use scripts to reformat data to help with the automation process

File size and file format

• We work almost exclusively with .csv and .json file formats
• Bigger file sizes may warrant the use of a database or an API to handle the data - always consider page performance