Developing a merge routine

I find it helpful to think of merging data as the parking lot of the data cleaning process. Merging data and parking may seem routine, but they are where a disproportionate number of accidents occur. One approach to getting in and out of parking lots without an incident occurring is to use a similar strategy each time you go to a particular lot. It could be that you always go to a relatively low traffic area and you get to that area the same way most of the time.

I think a similar approach can be applied to getting in and out of merges with our data relatively unscathed. If we choose a general approach that works for us 80 to 90 percent of the time, we can focus on what is most important – the data, rather than the techniques for manipulating that data.

In this recipe, I will demonstrate the general approach that works for me, but the particular techniques I will use are not very important. I think it is just helpful to have an approach that...