The Importance of Data Accuracy
Lisa Simpson
University of Phoenix
CIS 319: Computers and Information Processing
August 18, 2008

The accuracy of data input is an important function of our daily lives. We rely heavily on data accuracy for everyday tasks and trust that this data is accurate so we can maintain our personal, educational, and professional lives. Before the technology age, we simply entered all data manually or had the benefit of limited uses of typewriters, calculators, or faxing documents to others. Now most of us have access to a number of computers, a cell phone, and email. There are various ways of imputing data and which provide various output methods. In addition, there are several storage tools that we are dependent on to ensure our collected data is saved and utilized. With printed questionnaires, either entering data on the computer manually with the keyboard or using a mouse to update obtained information. When writing out data manually, such as handwriting or by using shorthand, the data may not be read correctly. Human error is the greatest error in obtaining any statistical information. By using the keyboard method, it will avoid those manual errors. Among this method's advantages, one of the most important is that most people are familiar with using keyboards and keyboard/mouse layout, so there is little training required for using keyboards. One great advantage of obtaining printed questionnaires is that one can utilize an optical mark recognizer. The optical mark is a pencil mark that is filled in, or bubbled in, by the person completing the survey. Once this data is received, it is scanned into the computer providing the results of the survey. This is a convenient and accurate data input method that captures that data by contrast and reflects at predetermined positions on a page (such as ranking on a scale from 1-5) which can rapidly calculate scores. A telephone survey resembles printed questionnaires but has several other advantages. By utilizing a random telephone survey, information can be obtained and applied to collect data for community surveys, consumer surveys, government surveys, and membership surveys. One benefit of using a telephone survey is that there is no need to have a “live” individual taking this data. The call simply can be made to the intended market and that recipient can simply punch in their scores electronically by selecting a number on the phone, which avoids any one person entering that data into the computer or scanning. It is immediately transmitted to the data-capturing document. One negative side effect is that this process is not suitable for large amounts of data as this method is best used for small data collection. Retail tags and bar codes ensure that accurate data is obtained and merchandise can be ordered based on the computerized stocking methods. This is beneficial for not only the consumer but also the retailer. The consumer is able to clearly view the price of the item and the retailer is able to ensure that the advertised amount is applied. Using Magnetic Ink Character Recognition Devices (MICRD) simply scans the bottom code of checks that automatically tells the bank the necessary banking information such as customer account information. This is beneficial to the banking system as they have a large amount of accounts and this method quickly routes information. Long documents are projects that are hundreds of pages long, or more. Such examples of long documents are reference manuals, books, or magazines. Upkeep on long documents is time consuming and must be updated regularly. In the past, this was done manually by replacing pages in each manual or book to ad one small update that took a lot of time and space to store these items. Not to mention pages of paper that were being wasted by reprinting one entire page just to change one sentence or one particular figure on this long documents. Long documents can now be simply stored as PDF files and convenient access to these documents.

Why is data output and the convenience and quality of that output import to all of us? Convenience is important in those situations when information or images need to be shown quickly and often on the move, from a laptop or other hand held computer such as a cell phone. Quality is important when ideas, data, or images need to be shown or exchanged with an audience that is interested in the details of the information. An example of this is a presenter discussing a point and that can be illustrated from a laptop or computer program. An example of the latter is a person who is showing the latest company results or personal information in a business setting. Quality is necessary on a resume, memorandum, or color photograph, and convenience is necessary for a statistical report or a company annual report. Sometimes those items are needed by an employee but are distributed by an employer, such as a retirement portfolio or stock results. Different types of storage devices are optimal for different personal and business situations. Data storage devices have capacity to store electronic data within different types of storage media. Depending on the amount of data necessary to store, often determines which device should be used to store that data. For example, Floppy Disks are unable to store the same amount of data as a CD ROM, which is why floppy disks are no longer the norm any longer. In addition, other thing to consider when storing data and that is whether that data is non-volatile or volatile. Those non-volatile memory units include tape, hard disk, floppy disk, or flash drive. The contents of this data are preserved even if the power goes off. Data stored on RAM or a hard drive may be subject to being lost or destroyed if power is lost. Using non-volatile memory units is useful for the backup of hard drives and archiving important data. Lastly, non-volatile memory units are also useful when transporting that data is necessary such as a class presentation. A computer’s speed is a critical factor in determining how fast it performs necessary calculations or functions but it takes a number of factors into consideration to determine and if those elements improve the speed or are they taking up precious storage space on the computer. These elements show if a computer storage unit is simply too much information for that unit or if it is not enough storage, which may influence and how fast various processors perform tasks. Important tools that we are able to judge a computers speed by is such items as checking a document for spelling mistakes, recalculating the numbers in a spreadsheet, editing a photograph or movie to simply surfing online. RAM is a separate internal unit that allows the computer to store data that the processor can access very quickly. With a limited amount of RAM, the computer is forced to place this data on the hard drive that can significantly slower than RAM. Clock speed is a measure of how quickly a computer completes basic operations. It is measured as a frequency in hertz (i.e. 800 MHZ), and most commonly refers to the speed of the Central Processing Unit (CPU). The computers internal hard drive is a memory storage unit that is round; mirror like device that when you turn on your computer this device starts to spin. We have all been victim to our computers “crashing”, this constant spinning of the internal hard drive which is why it is always a good idea to back up because if new data is stored while on, that data may be lost if that unit stops spinning for any reason. A compact disk (CD) is formatted to store electronic data such as a word processing documents, other text files, graphics, spreadsheets, movies, or music. Floppy disks are removable storage devices that record data onto a thin film, which is inside a square plastic jacket. Floppy disks were frequently used in the 1970’s as a way of storing data but are somewhat antiquated now, having been replaced by flash drives or CD storage devices as they hold more data than a floppy disk and are not as destructible as a floppy disk. In conclusion, technology today is rapidly growing. We are able to access the internet from our phones, we can download media to our music devices, and we utilize computers for just about every day-to-day task we encounter. Whether we are simply checking our bank balance, applying for a job, or we are booking our next vacation, we heavily rely on the accuracy of these elements to ensure our business, personal, and educational lives are fulfilled. In today’s high tech world, we are dependent on having easy access to all technology and its resources. We depend on its success for our own successes. For this reason, it is important for all of us to understand our every changing technology.

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