Preparing Data for Cleaning - Research Desk Documentation

Follow these guidelines before submitting a data cleaning request to ensure smooth processing.

Supported formats

Only CSV or Excel files are supported.

Single-sheet files

If all data is in one sheet, each column should contain:

A unique variable identifier (for example, Q1A1_1)
The full question text
The labeled answer in plain text

Recommended structure:

Row	Content
Row 1	Header row with unique variable identifiers
Row 2	Full question text for each variable
Row 3+	One row per respondent with labeled answers

Question text may also be embedded in the header after the identifier:

Q1A1_1: Please indicate how often you usually eat red meat

Two-sheet files

Sheet 1 (Data):

Row 1: Unique variable identifiers
Row 2 onward: Coded or labeled respondent answers

Sheet 2 (Codebook):

Mapping between variable identifiers and full question text
Labeled answer options for each question

Download a sample file format for reference.

Platform export steps

Decipher

Open the Report tab
Click Data Downloads
Select Other Data Formats
Choose Excel with Text

Qualtrics

Open Data & Analysis
Click Export & Import → Export Data…
Under Values or labels, select Export labels
Click Download

Data Cleaning Requests FAQ

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