data cleaning _is_ analysis.
knowing your data _is_ key.

I'm so glad I found [this blog](https://counting.substack.com/p/data-cleaning-is-analysis-not-grunt) today. Someone else saying exactly what I'm thinking quietly is a nice reassurance.

> We just call it data cleaning because somehow it’s “not the real analysis I’m doing”, it’s “the stuff that comes before”. The Real Work™ is using algorithms with names, not “find and replace”. I’m just forced to do this menial labor step so that I can achieve my true glory as the bringer of truth.