[Babase] Re: Predation Coding Scheme
Karl O. Pinc
kop at meme.com
Tue Mar 11 06:46:43 EDT 2008
On 03/10/2008 10:41:41 PM, Susan Alberts wrote:
>> Regards data entry error. Don't forget the "have two different
>> people enter the data and then compare" method of error detection.
> And, of course, we will have two people proofing, with a switch in
> roles to make sure that the enterer is not re-duplicating her
> original errors.
The dual-entry/compare can _be_ the proofing. It all depends on how
through you want to be. I don't have extensive experience, but
the 2nd entry can, depending, be as quick an operation as the
proofing. Then you let the computer do the actual checking
during the compare step. The thing about having a human
do the proofing is that seeing work done can pre-dispose
the proofer to interpret the original data, or just the
transcription, in an erroneous fashion. Not necessarily
in their own data entry work (if the proofer/enterers are swapping
roles), but in the actual proofing itself. The nice thing
about dual-entry is that both data entry people start from
a "clean slate" and have no pre-conceptions about what the
data should look like.
You might want to benchmark the various approaches (comparing time,
error rates, with a control without proofing or double-entry,
statistically validating the results, publishing a paper on
"Data Entry Approaches to Recording Primate Predation Data",
etc. ;-)
Karl <kop at meme.com>
Free Software: "You don't pay back, you pay forward."
-- Robert A. Heinlein
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