Part of data analysis often includes pulling data together from different sources. Often data need to be "cleaned up$"$ in order to conduct effective analysis. For example, public companies file annual financial statements with the Securities and Exchange Commission $($SEC$)$ through $10-$k filings. These are available for public download as Excel files on the SEC website called EDGAR. This allows researchers to combine data from many companies into one table for analysis. Yet companies are not consistent with how they name certain accounts or the formatting of their financial statements. Data analysts must "clean up$"$ the data to make naming convention and formatting consistent in order to effectively combine and analyze the data.

Part $2$: Gather your files

Go to EDGAR and download the FY$2210-$K Excel files for Pfizer $($PFE$),$ Merck $($MRK$)$ and AbbVie $($ABBV$).$ To do so$,$ you will need to:

$(1)$ Access the EDGAR Company Filings page, and enter the company name or ticker $($e$.$g$.$ "Merck" or $"$MRK$")$ in the Company and Person Lookup search bar.