Introduction

In the last challenge we defined a question to answer using open data, located and downloaded the data needed to answer it. We wanted to know how much money would you owe if your countries debt was split equaly among all people in the country and how does that compare to other countries. For this we downloaded data on government debt (in %GDP) the GDP (in US$) and the population. Now we will look at the data using a spreadsheet program and start to wrangle it. We will calculate the values we want to know and then rank countries based on the values.

But, what exactly is this spreadsheet thing?

Spreadsheets are a class of applications that help you manage and deal with data. While they are not as powerful as databases, they are very simple to use and are used widely. Chances are you've already stumbled accross some of them. One of the most frequently used spreadsheet programs is Microsoft Excel. It is commonly used in business planning etc. The basic function of spreadsheets is to organize data in tables. Spreadsheet applications are able to do basic (and more advanced) calculations using specific formulas. We will cover some of the formulas later.

Creating a new spreadsheet

The spreadsheet application we will use is the google docs spreadsheet. To create a new spreadsheet go to your google docs and select create. Then in the menu select spreadsheet.

This will result in an empty spreadsheet. Don't worry it will fill pretty quickly as we import our data. The next thing you want to do is name your google doc, so you will find it later. Naming and organizing your files is crucial once you start dealing with data - otherwise you'll end up in a chaos and not finding anything after a while. To name your spreadsheet simply click on the title (it will say "untitled spreadsheet" right now).

Importing Data

So far our spreadsheet is empty, but as promised we'll fill it with data in this step. To import the csv files we've downloaded klick on file and then import

You will get a menu where you can upload a file. Click on "Browse" and select the first of the three csv files we downloaded in the previous challenge. (Have done the challenge and can't find them - remember the naming and organizing rant above?). We want to have all three files in one spreadsheet so choose "Insert new Sheet(s)" as import action. If you've sucessfully done this you will end up with a new sheet filled with the data. Now add the other two csv files the same way.

Once you have all the data imported you can switch between the sheets using the tabs on the bottom.

Now it's your turn. What do you notice about the Data you just imported? Is there anything particular that catches your eye?