Understanding data wrangling

Data wrangling, broadly speaking, is the process of gathering data in its raw form and molding it into a form that is suitable for its end use. Preparing data for its end use can branch out into a number of different tasks based on the exact use case. This can make it rather hard to pin down exactly what data wrangling entails, and formulate how to go about it. Nevertheless, there are a number of common steps in the data wrangling process, as outlined in the following subsections. The approach that I will take in this book is to introduce a number of tools and practices that are often involved in data wrangling. Each of the chapters will consist of one or more exercises and/or projects that will demonstrate the application of a particular tool or approach.