After dealing with missing entries and duplicate records, the next step involves ensuring the data values themselves are consistent. Variations in text formatting, like differences in capitalization ('USA' vs 'usa') or unnecessary spaces (' value ' vs 'value'), can interfere with grouping, merging, and analyzing data effectively. Similarly, inconsistent units (e.g., pounds and kilograms in the same column) require standardization.

This chapter introduces basic techniques to improve data consistency through formatting and standardization. You will learn practical methods to:

• Standardize text case (converting to upper or lower case).
• Remove leading and trailing whitespace from text entries.
• Apply simple string replacements to correct common inconsistencies.
• Perform basic unit conversions using simple arithmetic operations.

Applying these techniques helps create a more uniform dataset, which is essential for reliable analysis and subsequent data processing steps.