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Getting Started with Data Cleaning and OpenRefine

This guide is meant to introduce readers to the importance of data cleaning through a useful tool for working with "messy" data, OpenRefine.

Records and Rows

In OpenRefine, you can view your data as records or you can view your data as rows.

Rows: For most of this tutorial, you will be viewing data as rows. Rows will display your data in individual lines.

Records: Records will show your data based on relationships, meaning that related data elements will display across multiple lines.

A good visual example of this relationship is explored in the University of Illinois' guide.

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