Workshop Attendance — Data Cleaning Project

This project walks through the full process of cleaning and deduping a realistic workshop‑attendance dataset, showing how messy operational data becomes usable, transforming into clear, reliable information that supports decision‑making.

Scenario

A small community organisation shared a workshop‑attendance spreadsheet that had become messy over time. Different staff had updated it, formats had drifted, and the data was no longer reliable for reporting or decision‑making.

This case study shows how ThinkCave turns everyday messy spreadsheets into clear, usable information.

Before → After

Messy, raw data spreadsheet

Raw dataset:

Messy, inconsistent, and difficult to use:

  • mixed name formats

  • multiple date styles

  • varied attendance and payment codes

  • typos and abbreviations

  • notes entered in different styles

Cleaned & deduped dataset:

Standardised, structured, and analysis‑ready:

  • consistent names

  • unified dates

  • normalised workshop types

  • clear attendance and payment categories

  • tidy notes

  • true duplicates removed

What I Did (Cleaning Steps)

  • Standardised names

  • Cleaned and unified dates

  • Normalised workshop types

  • Mapped attendance and payment codes

  • Cleaned notes

  • Removed structural issues

  • Applied strict dedupe logic

Dedupe Logic

Duplicates were removed only when all fields matched:

  • Participant Name

  • Workshop Date

  • Workshop Type

  • Attendance

  • Payment Status

  • Notes

If any field differed, the row was kept.

This preserves meaningful differences such as attendance, payment status, and notes.

Why This Matters

Once cleaned, the dataset becomes reliable. The organisation can:

  • track attendance accurately

  • understand participation patterns

  • identify payment gaps

  • build simple dashboards

  • make clearer decisions

Clear data supports clearer thinking.

Typical outcomes

  • Monthly reporting that takes minutes, not hours

  • Dashboards that show what matters at a glance

  • Spreadsheets that behave properly

  • Teams that understand their own data

  • Better decisions based on what’s already available

GitHub Link

View the full project on GitHub: https://github.com/Dawn-ThinkCave/workshop-attendance-cleanup