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Merging Similar Categories (e.g. Mentions)
Analyzing open-ended survey responses, such as brand, product, or artist mentions, can be challenging due to variations in spelling and phrasing. With AddMaple’s “Merge Similar Mentions” feature, you can clean and organize this data in seconds.
Simply select the relevant columns, and AddMaple will automatically identify and suggest groups of similar mentions for you to merge.
From the options menu select "Merge Similar Mentions"
A pop-up box will appear to guide you through the flow
The first step is to select the columns containing the categories or mentions you want to merge. You can choose one column or multiple columns.
If you can't see your column, make sure it is either a Multiple Choice or Multi Select column. If it's been detected as a text column, you will first need to change the type.
Selecting multiple columns has the advantage of ensuring consistency across them. AddMaple will align similar mentions across all selected columns, making it easier to group them together later. This process won’t create a new column—it simply merges the mentions or categories you confirm.
Choosing the best column type
AddMaple automatically detects column types based on your data - these are correct 99% of the time.
Ocassionally we may not detect the correct column and you will need to change the column type. This happens more frequently with "mentions" data. Sometimes we detect it as free text - whereas for this flow to work it needs to be either "Multiple Choice" or "Multi Select".
If your column contains multiple mentions in a single row, for example someone may enter "Apples, Oranges, Bananas" then be sure to change the type to "Multi Select".
You can change the type of a column from the chart dashboard - see this guide here
On the next screen, you’ll see two types of merge groups. The first type highlights groups with multiple variations. You can choose to “Confirm All” to approve all suggested groups at once or review each group individually.
To edit a group, click the pencil icon. This allows you to:
- Change the merge name.
- Add or remove categories/mentions within the group.
Once you’re satisfied with a group, click the “Confirm” button on the right to finalize it.
The second type of merge groups includes items where the only differences are in capitalization. These groups are automatically confirmed for your convenience, but you can choose to unconfirm and edit them if needed.
When you are ready to proceed click "Review Codes"
You’ll then see a screen displaying all your confirmed groups. From here, you can remove groups, return to the review stage for further edits, or click “Confirm Merges” to apply your changes.
Once the merges are applied, your mentions will be consolidated, allowing you to seamlessly continue exploring and analyzing your data in AddMaple.
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