Data Collection & Cleaning
Survey design, field collection and careful cleaning, delivered with a full audit trail from raw file to final dataset.
What Our Data Collection & Cleaning Service Covers
Everything between an empty form and a dataset you can trust. We design instruments in Google Forms, SurveyMonkey, KoboToolbox, Qualtrics and ODK, then set the skip logic, constraints and validation rules that stop bad values entering in the first place. Once collection closes we handle the unglamorous half of the work in Python and R: deduplication, missing value treatment, outlier review, variable recoding, label harmonisation and merging across waves or sources. You receive the clean dataset, the raw file it came from, and a written log of every transformation applied between the two.
What's Included
Every engagement is scoped in writing, but these are the deliverables you can expect as standard.
Instrument design
Questionnaires built in Kobo, ODK, Qualtrics, SurveyMonkey or Google Forms with skip logic and validation.
Collection setup
Offline capable forms, enumerator guides and real time monitoring for field teams.
Deduplication and merging
Duplicate removal and careful merging across survey waves, sites or source systems.
Missing value treatment
Patterns of missingness assessed and handled with a documented, defensible approach.
Recoding and labelling
Variables recoded, value labels harmonised and a codebook produced for every field.
Cleaning log
A written record of every change between the raw file and the clean dataset.
Built for Teams Like Yours
If any of these sound familiar, this service is a good place to start.
- NGOs and development programmes running field surveys
- Researchers preparing primary data collection
- Businesses consolidating messy customer or sales records
- Teams inheriting inconsistent historical datasets
From Brief to Delivery
- 01
Review objectives
We confirm what the data must measure and design the instrument around those indicators.
- 02
Build and pilot
The form is built, tested with a small group and corrected before full rollout.
- 03
Collect and monitor
Submissions are checked daily so problems are fixed while enumerators are still in the field.
- 04
Clean and deliver
You receive the clean dataset, the raw file, the codebook and the full cleaning log.
Data Collection & Cleaning FAQs
Can you clean data we already collected?
Yes. Send the raw files and any codebook you have. We start with a quality assessment so you know what you are dealing with.
Do you support offline field collection?
Yes. Kobo and ODK forms work fully offline and sync when enumerators are back in coverage.
Will we still have the original data?
Always. The raw file is never overwritten, and every transformation is documented so it can be reversed or audited.
