Researchers often end up collecting and working with data in spreadsheets, and tend to organize that data in ways that make sense to them. In order to use tools for efficient computation and visualization of data, it is important to structure the data in ways that computers best understand it. In this *hands-on* lesson from the University of Missouri Libraries, you will learn: Good data entry practices - formatting data tables in spreadsheets, how to avoid common formatting mistakes, approaches for handling dates in spreadsheets, basic quality control and data manipulation in spreadsheets, and exporting data to other formats. This is a GREAT workshop relating to 'note-booking' skills in a research setting!