Preparing the Data

Mistakes in the spelling or capitalization of streets, barangays, provinces, etc., during data collection is very common, especially when covering large areas. This underscores the importance of checking, validating, and editing submissions in the KoboToolbox by following the steps discussed on page 29. The downloaded Excel file contains two worksheets: Household Information and Persons with Disability Profile. Both sheets must be thoroughly checked before proceeding to data analysis. Here are the steps in preparing your data for data analysis:

Preparing the Data

1. In your Excel file, select the first ROW that contains the headers of the columns. These are the titles of the indicators taken from the IDMS

TOOL. After selecting them, go to SORT AND FILTER in the MENU and select FILTER. 2. Move to columns to the right so that Province, Municipality and

Barangay COLUMNS are showing on the screen. Touch the down arrow in the HEADER of the column, and type the correct spelling of the area.

Make sure the box next to the correct name of the place you want to correct is checked and click OK. 3. Choose the correct spelling, highlight and DRAG DROP to the very end of the list. Do this for all barangay entries until they all show uniform spelling. Move to the COLUMN of provinces and municipalities and do the same. 4. After that, select all columns with NUMBER data. After selecting, an exclamation mark will appear next to it. Click the exclamation mark and the choices will appear. Select ‘Convert text to number’ in the options. 5. Do this for all numbered data.