How to Search for Duplicate Person records

Overview

The following steps help create a report using the Person report source in SS&E. Once generated, the results are exported to MS Excel or Google Sheets for data analysis.

If duplicates are found, these should be resolved so that SS&E is able to properly identify the user trying to log in.

• Check if there are duplicate person records or different users with the same first name/last name.
  • If there are multiple users with the same full name, as long as they have different email addresses and different usernames it is not an issue.
  • If duplicates person records exist, it can be fixed in Person Administration, further explained here.
  • More information about troubleshooting login issues can be found here.

How to find duplicate person records on a report

1. Create a new report using the Person report source.
   • From the Reports page, select +New Report, then select the "Person" report source to create a new report searching on all People in the SS&E database.
2.  Enter a report name (such as "Find Duplicate Person Records").
3. Remove all the pre-populated columns and add the following columns:
   1. ID [Person]
   2. First Name [Person]
   3. Last Name [Person]
   4. Username [Person]
4. Save the report.
5. Run the report.
6. Export the report to Excel.
7. Open/Upload the report in Excel or Google Sheets.
8. To find duplicate records in Google Sheets:
   1. Select the entire data range by highlighting the data displayed in all four columns, excluding the header row.
   2. Sort the data by last name.
      • Data - Sort range - Advanced range sorting options -Sort by Column C ("last name" data), select "Sort".
   3. From the menu bar, select Format - Conditional Formatting.
   4. From the menu that pops up on the right side, select "Add another rule".
   5. The "Apply to range" will be prepopulated with the data range selected in step 1.
   6. Under "Format Rules - Format cells if...", scroll down to select "Custom formula is" from the dropdown.
   7. In the Value field, copy the following formula to highlight all records that have a different Person Id with a matching "first name, last name" =COUNTIFS($B2:$B,$B2,$C2:$C,$C2)1.
      • To search for Person records with a duplicate username, copy the following formula: =COUNTIFS($D2:$D,$D2)1.
   8. Under "Formatting style", select the paint bucket and select the color to use on duplicates.
   9. Select Done to view the results.