0

I am a data analyst who received amino acid data from lab to transform them into a form suitable for analysis.

What I would like to check with you is check whether the below terms mean the same?

For ex: In one input file, we have Amino acid data like as shown below. Whereas the in the other file, we had similar amino acid data but named slightly different (as shown below)

enter image description here

So my question is, do you think both Ala and Ala_1, Arg and Arg_1 are the same? Do they mean exactly the same? How are they different from each other?

Improve this question
5
  • 1
    You'll need to ask the sources of your data. For example "Ala" clearly means alanine, but exactly what about alanine? "Ala 1_Conc(uM)" seems to refer to a micromolar (uM) concentration of alanine, but whether that's an input or a result or what is known only by the data generator.
    – Armand
    Commented Jul 29, 2021 at 8:52
  • @Armand, for ex:the csv file1 is from hospital 1. It has patient ids and their value for Ala. Similarly, i have another csv file from hospital 2 but it has patient ids and their value for Ala 1_Conc(uM)? The unit of 1st csv file is also uM. So, i would like to check from experts here both Aĺa and Ala 1 mean exactly the same?
    – The Great
    Commented Jul 29, 2021 at 9:10
  • 1
    Expert though the folks here may be :) , we have no way of reading the minds of the person who created the data files. You will have to contact them.
    – Armand
    Commented Jul 29, 2021 at 9:16
  • Yes, I will reach out to data owners. But if it is something that I can find through my research online, I thought I can skip reaching out to them. So, based on your knowledge, you think these two could mean different things?
    – The Great
    Commented Jul 29, 2021 at 9:59
  • Based on my knowledge of databases, especially from medical records extracts, you just need to know more. Assumptions are extremely dangerous. You cannot operate on column titles alone, you need an entire detailed data dictionary. You can only get this from the original data source.
    – Bryan Krause ♦
    Commented Jul 29, 2021 at 16:59

0

Reset to default

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge you have read our privacy policy.