---
title: "Formatting data in a spreadsheet"
slug: "formatting-data-in-spreadsheet"
updated: 2022-02-07T18:43:19Z
published: 2022-02-07T18:43:19Z
canonical: "userguide.dataclassroom.com/formatting-data-in-spreadsheet"
---

> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://userguide.dataclassroom.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Formatting data in a spreadsheet

For analysis, the best way to have your data arranged is in a rows-and-columns format known as **Tidy Data**.

Using this "tidy" format means that you will be using a **best practice** that is used by all professional data analysis tools, and therefore building good habits for the future.

For an example, see [this Google Sheet](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1yWFxIwVlhWMGfWriok20XhVQuhgCM_cTFYAzdUnz1CA). It has:

- A first row, with headings that name the data in the columns (the **variable names**)
- All the data arranged in rows, with **one sample or data point in each row**.

![](https://cdn.document360.io/62f8f41e-e041-42c4-b9bc-8ae1eb45d064/Images/Documentation/image-1618131631026.png)

In this example, you can see that each data point (row) represents one individual, and there are three variables (columns), which are either attributes (like Sex) or measurements/observations about that individual, like Height or Weight.

To read more about the advantages of Tidy Data, see [this blog post](https://about.dataclassroom.com/blog/keep-your-data-tidy).

Does your data look different?

If you have collected data which is not in this format, don't worry. See [this article on converting data to tidy format](/v1/docs/converting-data-to-tidy-format).

### Other formatting tips

- Don't add other rows with extra information on the same tab as your data. If you need to add extra information, put it in a separate tab.
- It's OK to add **visual formatting** like bold text, centering or left/right alignment.
- Excel and CSV can both be used. CSV has the advantage that it is "clean" and will not have any extraneous information, but can be less readable.
- If you are collecting survey data with Google Forms, keep the **question names short** and add any longer explanatory text for the question in the optional **description field** for each question. The question names will become the **column headings** when you export the results, so long sentences there will not be optimal.

Dr. Reedy talks about the importance of teaching tidy data in this short video (4 min):

[Embedded content](https://www.youtube.com/embed/-gI5MN0jkOA?&wmode=opaque&rel=0)