Data Services: Integrating Other Data

This guide provides information on managing data and obtaining secondary data for research.

Why Integrate Data Sets?

There are many data sets available that could potentially be very useful in your research. However, to use them, they must be intergrated into a composite data set. The tips to the right discuss some considerations while integrating multiple data sets into one.

Tips for Data Integration

1. Consider the compatibility of the data you are integratingWhen using integrated data sets, it is crucial that the data are comparable and compatible to avoid mistakes in analyses and interpretation.

2. Document the integration of multiple data setsProvide enough information about the process used to integrate disparate datasets so that others can properly use your data and/or your process to integrate similar data sources.

3. Understand the geospatial parameters of multiple data sourcesAwareness and proper use of geospatial data parameters can affect the ability to interpret or produce sound analysis results.

4. Convert different units to the same units. In order to combine two or more data sets, you must make their units match.

Content Citation

Content on this page was taken from the following website:

http://www.dataone.org/best-practices/integrate