# Find missing values in my data and explain their impact

Profiles blanks and placeholder values by column, spots patterns in what's missing, and recommends how to handle each gap.

- Topic: Data & Analysis
- Framework: RTF
- Level: Standard
- Tags: Data & Analytics, Analyze, Explain & Teach, Fill-in Template
- Source: https://www.thinkwithprompt.com/prompts/find-missing-values-in-my-data-and-explain-their-impact

## Prompt

```text
Help me find the missing values in my dataset, understand why they might be missing, and decide how to handle them.

**Data:** [PASTE SAMPLE ROWS OR A COLUMN PROFILE - row count and blanks per column if I have it]
**What I'll use it for:** [e.g. "monthly churn report", "pricing analysis", "forecast"]
**Tool:** [Excel / Google Sheets / SQL / Python / Power BI]

Steps:
1. Count missing values per column, including disguised ones: blanks, nulls, "N/A", "-", 0 used as a placeholder, and default dates like 1/1/1900.
2. Look for patterns: are blanks concentrated in certain periods, regions, sources, or record types? Data missing for a reason needs a different fix from data missing at random.
3. Judge the impact on my intended use: which results would be biased, understated, or wrong if blanks are ignored, dropped, or filled.
4. Suggest handling per column: leave and flag, exclude rows, fill from another source, fill with a documented rule, or go back to the data owner.

Return:
1. A table: Column | Missing count and % | How missing is recorded | Pattern | Impact on my analysis | Recommended handling.
2. Formulas or queries to find and count blanks in my tool.
3. Fields too incomplete to use for this analysis.
4. A one-paragraph note for my report explaining the gaps.

Don't silently fill or drop data: state how each choice would change the results. Never invent replacement values; anything filled in must be labeled as estimated.
```

## What to fill in

- e.g. "monthly churn report", "pricing analysis", "forecast"
- Excel / Google Sheets / SQL / Python / Power BI

Free to copy and use. From ThinkWithPrompt (https://www.thinkwithprompt.com/), a library of 2,663 curated AI prompts.