LUQ Information Management
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Did you know?....

ABOUT DATA MANIPULATION AND MERGING: : When merging two data sets, the standardization of the way you have entered/named/codified the common data columns is essential. For example, for the LUQ Canopy Trimming Experiment (CTE) data sets case the following datacolumns have to be consistent in any two data sets that are to be related (merged):

Block
Plot
Subplot
Section
Date
Tag (if applicable) and/or species code

Did you also know?....

ABOUT CODIFICATION USED FOR PLOTS AND SUBPLOTS: If the codification you have given to the plots/subplots is different to the official 1-4/1 -16 codification, you need to have a table for both data sets you want to merge, where the correspondant official codification is related to the one you assigned.

For example, in the seedling data set the numbers assigned to the Subplots are 1 to 5, inclusively; BUT THESE DO NOT CORRESPOND TO THE 1-16 CODES THAT WERE ORIGINALLY ASSIGNED TO THE SUBPLOTS.

...something like this:

SEEDLING_SUBPLOTS_CODE	OFFICIAL_CODE
1	2
2	14
3	1
4	6
5	11
(NOTE:THIS TABLE IS ONLY ANN EXAMPLE / ILLUSTRATION, NOT THE ACTUAL CODIFICATION SCHEME)

AN EXTRA NOTE ABOUT MERGING DATA SETS: You will need the data to be entered in a relational data base management system (ACCESS, PARADOX, FOX, MYSQL) or someting in a software format that allows you to write scripts/programs that will allow you to merge two data sets into one. Spreadsheets (Excel, QPRO, etc) ARE NOT DESIGNED FOR THIS PURPOSE AND WILL BE INACCURATE AND VERY DIFFICULT MERGING DATA.

DBMS vs Spreadsheets:

DBMS : Stands for "Database Management System." In short, a DBMS is a database program. Technically speaking, it is a software system that uses a standard method of cataloging, retrieving, and running queries on data. The DBMS manages incoming data, organizes it, and provides ways for the data to be modified or extracted by users or other programs. (FROM http://www.techterms.com/definition/dbms)

Spreadsheets: A spreadsheet is a document that stores data in a grid of rows and columns. Rows are typically labeled using numbers (1, 2, 3, etc.), while columns are labeled with letters (A, B, C, etc). Individual row/column locations, such as C3 or B12, are referred to as cells. Each cell can each store a unique instance of data. By entering data into a spreadsheet, information can be stored in a more structured way than using plain text The row/column structure also allows the data to be analyzed using formulas and calculations.