The DataDude
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The DataDude A Simple Program to Simplify Your Life Child Welfare Research Center Center for Social Services Research University of California, Berkeley Barbara Needell, Principal Investigator – California Children’s Services Archive Daniel Webster, Research Specialist Bill Dawson, Associate Research Specialist Wendy Piccus, MSW Student Research Assistant Yalda Ataie, Student Assistant
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The DataDude. A Simple Program to Simplify Your Life Child Welfare Research Center Center for Social Services Research University of California, Berkeley Barbara Needell, Principal Investigator – California Children’s Services Archive Daniel Webster, Research Specialist - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
Transcript of The DataDude
The DataDudeA Simple Program to Simplify Your Life
Child Welfare Research CenterCenter for Social Services ResearchUniversity of California, Berkeley
Barbara Needell, Principal Investigator – California Children’s Services ArchiveDaniel Webster, Research SpecialistBill Dawson, Associate Research SpecialistWendy Piccus, MSW Student Research AssistantYalda Ataie, Student Assistant
What is the DataDude?
An Excel file that allows you to: Download a series of reports from the UCB
CWS/CMS reports website
Summarize selected information in a form suitable for review and or graphing
Graph the data
Downloading a Series of Reports from the UCB CWS/CMS Reports Website
The DataDude allows you to:
Download a series of reports (i.e.,all available time periods) for a CWS/CMS report of your choosing
Download a Series of Reports from the UCB CWS/CMS Reports Website in 3 Steps:
Results: The DataDude Downloads a Series of Reports to an Excel Workbook
Reviewing and Summarizing Data Across Periods of Time
The DataDude allows you to: Summarize selected information in a form
suitable for review and or graphing
Examine All Time Periods for a CWS/CMS Report On One Easy To Read Excel Worksheet
Review and Summarize Data Across Periods of Time in 4 Steps:
Summarize Data in One Table
Results: Summarize Data from All Points in Time to One Table
Review Data
Graphing Data
MS Excel allows you to: Take the data that you have summarized
using the DataDude and create a graph
Graph Data: Select Time Periods & Rows
Select the MS Excel Graphing Wizard:
Point In Time: Child Welfare Supervised Foster Care By County
0
1,000
2,000
3,000
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7,000
Cou
ntie
s (L
.A. C
ount
y E
xclu
ded)
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10,000
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Los
Ang
eles
Alameda
Contra Costa
Fresno
Kern
Orange
Sacramento
Santa Clara
Los Angeles
How Do I Get My Own Copy of the DataDude?
1. Go to: http://cssr.berkeley.edu/datadude
2. Right-Click “DataDude Tool*”
3. Choose the “Save Target As” Option
4. Save the DataDude to a location on your computer
5. Open the DataDude
Potential Problems with Downloading your own version of the DataDude
Wrong Version of MS Excel Unable to Enable Macros: Security
Settings Formatting
Wrong version of MS Excel
Although resources have not allowed extensive testing, the DataDude should operate on all versions of MS Windows 95 and above and all versions of MS Excel 2000 and above.
Unable to Enable Macros
Troubleshooting
What if I have a summary table where the columns do not have the same titles?
If a column in a summary table has an incorrect title, this indicates that the source worksheet has a different layout or different number of columns than others in the series.
Identify the problem time period by the date indicated for the column in the first row.
Either remove the time period from the summary table by deleting the column or replace it with the correct column by manually copying the correct column into the summary table (and replacing the incorrect data).
Troubleshooting (continued)
What if I have a summary table where the rows don’t line up or where it seems like there are missing rows?
Ensure that data columns are aligned at the top. In some cases, slight variations in page layout will result in columns in your summary table having different start rows for the data. Correct by cutting and pasting the problem columns so that they are top aligned with others in the table.
If a column is missing rows, refer to the source worksheet. Determine which row(s) are missing. Cut and paste the appropriate portions of the column on the summary sheet to correct the problem
Troubleshooting (continued)
If you have difficulty determining which row(s) are missing for which time periods:
Create a summary table for column A. This will create a table containing the row headings from each of your source worksheets.
Examine this summary and determine which worksheets are missing which row headings.
Adjust the data summary table by cutting and pasting the appropriate portions of the column.
