Column Headers & Order

Column Headers

Only use alphanumeric or these 3 special characters: period (.), dash (-), and underscore (_)
- Ampersand (&) should be replaced by “and” if needed
Each must be unique
- Can’t have two headers called "duration"
Units of measure should be omitted
- Units can and should be provided with the data dictionary
Keep short (less than 30 characters)
- A full description can and should be provided with the data dictionary

Example: date_received, applicants_address, supervisor_district

Unique identifiers should be in the left-most column if applicable
Date and time variables should be in the first column for time series data
Fixed or classified variables should be ordered with the highest-level variable on the left and most granular variable on the right, for example
- 311 cases: service_name, service_subtype, service_details
- Police incidents: category, descript
Observed variables should always be on the rightmost columns, these are measured variables often numeric, for example:
- Duration
- Number of Units
- Number of Stories
- Year Built
- People Served