Since the project launch in February this year the Data Quality project team has been working with the ALA user community to identify data quality related issues and develop solutions. Thank you to everyone who completed our surveys, contributed to our understanding of the baseline perceptions of data quality, helped to prioritise the issues, and tested solutions.
Prioritisation survey results
After establishing a baseline for perceptions of data quality (see results), we conducted a prioritisation survey to identify which issues the data quality project address first. The top two issues identified were:
- Users of the ALA are using data accessed via the ALA without filtering out records that are not fit for purpose.
- I don’t know whether to use particular records or datasets for my purpose because quality indicators are not visible, or I don’t understand what the information means.
Data Quality project first release – improvements to data filters
In response to the issues above, the project developed a new capability to pre-filter search results so that lower quality records (such as those with incomplete or inconsistent data) are not shown unless they are actively included.
The filters can be seen in a new Data Profile section above the search results.
The new release enables users to switch filters on or off and manage them as a group or individually. Information is available on the fields and data that make up the filters through mouse-over text and clickable info icons (i).
To get involved, join beta testing of the new Data profiles feature.
To learn more about the new data filter features, read Getting started with the Data profiles
For more information on the data quality project please visit the Data Quality project page or contact us at dataquality@ala.org.au.