Data Reliability: Definition, Process and Benefits of Reliable Data

Everyone wants to be a data driver. But to be data-driven, you first need to have data reliability as a top priority. It’s important to note that owning data is quite different from owning reliable data, which is also different from being data-driven.

To paint a clear picture, let’s take a scenario where two marketing executives present different conversion rates for the same quarter in a meeting. The chances are that the data reliability is poor and therefore, cannot be used to make lead generation projections for the next quarter.

Business leaders need reliable data to make data-driven decisions. However, obtaining and maintaining reliable data is easier said than done, especially for businesses that are just starting in data analytics.

In this post, we’ll walk you through everything you need to know about data reliability, including what data reliability refers to, how to control it, and why you should invest in it.

What Is Data Reliability?

Data reliability means that data is accurate and complete, and it’s a vital foundation for fostering data trust within an organization. Ensuring data reliability is one of the primary goals of data integrity, which is also key to maintaining data health, data quality, data security, and regulatory compliance.

Reliable data provides business executives with trusted analytics and insights that eliminate the guesswork of the decision-making process. As such, it’s one of the vital things you should get right when it comes to enhancing the overall health of your organization’s critical data points.

You should measure the data’s reliability throughout its entire lifecycle after it has been transformed and transferred from one base to another. This way, you’ll be better able to determine the quality of the data you collect as well as potential data quality issues and the value it adds to your organization.

How to Control Data Reliability

Controlling data reliability involves establishing measures to ensure data meets defined reliability criteria. Most of the time, a data reliability assessment is performed to evaluate the volume of unreliable data.

Data reliability assessment can help you discover problem areas in your data. It can involve the review of existing information about the data by conducting interviews with knowledgeable officials, performing tests on the data, and other measures such as tracing the data to and from the source document.

By running a data reliability assessment, you’ll be able to track three data quality metrics:

• Data Validity: This is the determination of whether data is properly formatted and stored properly.
• Uniqueness: This is the confirmation that the data is free from dummy entries and duplicates.
• Completeness: This is the determination of whether the dataset includes all the requisite values that your system needs.

Data reliability assessment can also factor in other aspects of data quality, including checking the number of times a dataset has been relied upon, its origin, and how it has been transformed over time. Getting such a deeper understanding is particularly important for datasets related to confidential information, where complete data accuracy is imperative.

Assessing the data reliability enables you to uncover issues within a dataset and the focus areas you need to improve data reliability. It may either show you the exact place to fix in a dataset that’s unreliable or reveal hidden problems within a dataset that you believe to be reliable. Suppose the assessment reveals bad data; various measures can be taken to remedy it, depending on what the data issues identified were. For example, if invalid data is discovered, it’s likely to be undertaken through a data preparation process.

How to Maintain Data Reliability

Maintaining data reliability is an ever-growing process. But like every IT process, it can be automated and doesn’t have to monopolize all your IT resources. Here are some of the best practices to follow to maintain data reliability:

Avoid Unreliable Data by Collecting Data Using Reliable Methods

Data can be collected using a variety of ways, including web forms filled by customers, or via manual data entry, which could lead to errors. Data collected using electronic methods tend to be more accurate data, given that they are collected automatically. For such digital data collection efforts, utilizing tools like ZenRows web scraping API could prove incredibly valuable.

Ensure data reliability by favoring primary sources of data (data obtained directly from the customer) instead of secondary data sources (purchasing information from a third-party company). This is because primary data is more reliable since it’s usually collected directly from the original source. It also provides up-to-date information about various aspects compared to secondary data.

Optimize the Data Collection Method for Improved Data Quality

Collecting accurate information is vital to ensuring data reliability. To achieve this, you need to optimize your data collection methods. This involves using the right technology to collect and offer value and convenience to individuals and entities from whom you collect your data. You can also optimize your method of collecting data by ensuring that the data sources have valid contact details. For instance, you should refuse phone numbers with letters and emails that don’t have “@”.

Avoid Multiple Entries

Having duplicate records or entries in your datasets will increase the likelihood of them being inaccurate. Unless you are doing double data entry as a method to immediately verify data (data is entered once by one person and then re-entered by a different person so a computer can compare the two entries), data should never be entered more than once.

Know Where Your Data is Coming From

What is the source of your data? Does the source of the data have a high-reliability rate? To check the reliability of your data source, you should trace it back to where it originated. It is vital that you ensure that the source of your data is trustworthy and that the data is reliable and can be used to make sound business decisions. Keep in mind that using unreliable data from sources can be detrimental to your business.

Clean Up Your Databases for Data Validity

Data should be cleaned up regularly. First, for legal reasons—there are some countries that require that you suppress data after a given duration without contact with the customer. However, it is also beneficial for your business because it allows you to have reliable data.

You can, for example:

• Identify duplicate data: Allow your software to perform data cleaning for you or check the duplicate data found.
• Suppress data that has been found to be unreliable data (for example, hard-bounced contact in email marketing).

Other ways of maintaining data reliability include keeping an update of logs made to your database, integrating data from multiple departments, ensuring that data is normalized, establishing data quality standards, and creating a plan for data correction and data is secured at your business’colocation data center or servers.

3 Reasons You Should Invest in Data Reliability

If an organization has high data quality, business leaders will be better positioned to make informed decisions. This means that they will have a greater chance of becoming successful. Deciding to invest in data reliability means you are investing in your organization’s future. Here’s a look at other reasons why organizations need to invest in data reliability:

1. Diffuse a Data-Driven Culture in the Organization

In today’s data-driven business landscape, data plays a significant role. Even so, determining valuable data from the large volumes of data that businesses generate can be challenging. Investing in data reliability and data governance can help foster a culture where employees use data in their decision-making. Needless to say, it’s easier to motivate employees to use data when the outcome is correct. If they can’t trust the data, they won’t use it.

2. Gain Time Back in Your Business

You’ve invested in a snazzy business intelligence platform, but what’s the point if you can’t trust the results it dishes out? It’s like having a powerful car with an unreliable engine – you won’t get far.

With dependable data, you can automate the tedious tasks that used to eat up your data teams time. That means no more late nights recalculating figures or second-guessing the reports. Your data works for you, not the other way around.

In the business game, timing is everything, and a solid data pipeline ensures that you receive accurate information when you need it. When your data pipelines are in good shape, you can make decisions on the fly. You’re not stuck in endless meetings trying to validate numbers through a data validation process or agonizing over whether your reports are accurate. Instead, you’re nimble, agile, utilizing valid data, and quick to seize opportunities as they arise.

But there’s more to it than just operational efficiency. Reliable data is the key to staying competitive. In a world where every advantage matters, you can’t afford to be in the dark. Reliable data illuminates your path, helping you spot trends, identify growth opportunities, and navigate the twists and turns of your industry.

So, the next time you wonder about the value of reliable data and well-maintained data pipelines you can trust, remember this: it’s not just data; it’s your ticket to streamlined data operations, timely decisions, and a lasting edge in the business world. Trustworthy data and a reliable data pipeline are the backbone of a smarter, more competitive business – and that’s a game-changer.

3. Reassure Customers and Foster Customer Trust

Your customers want to know that their data is being handled correctly. The collection, processing, analysis, and handling of customer data can be overwhelming—with a lot to consider to ensure that you remain compliant with various standards. As a means of reassuring your customers that their data is safe and is being used for the right purposes, you need to invest in data reliability.

Outsmart Competition With Reliable Data

Data reliability is essential in helping organizations make informed business decisions and to avoid poor decision making. As such, organizations with reliable data tend to have a competitive advantage.

Ensuring the reliability of data isn’t a once-and-done activity. Just like with other data health practices, improvements should be made to data reliability consistently. Establishing preventive measures as part of your larger data integrity initiatives to assess how reliable new data is and fix any data issues before they propagate across your system can minimize the likelihood of your data reliability deteriorating.

In the end, organizations need to figure out what type of information is accurate and which is not, invest in the right tools, and follow best practices to ensure the integrity and overall data reliability.

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Data Reliability FAQ

How do you determine data reliability?

To assess data reliability, conduct a thorough data reliability assessment. This involves reviewing existing information, performing tests, and tracing data to its source. Evaluate data validity, uniqueness, and completeness metrics. This ensures accurate, properly formatted, and stored data, providing insights into its reliability throughout its lifecycle.

What is an example of reliability data?

Imagine two marketing executives presenting different conversion rates for the same quarter. If the data is unreliable, it hinders lead generation projections for the next quarter. This scenario illustrates the importance of reliability data – accurate, complete information crucial for informed decision-making.

How do you ensure data reliability?

Ensure data reliability by collecting data using reliable methods, favoring primary sources, optimizing data collection methods, avoiding duplicates, verifying data sources, and regularly cleaning databases. These practices contribute to maintaining accurate, trustworthy data for sound decision-making.

What is the difference between data quality and data reliability?

Data quality encompasses various aspects like accuracy, completeness, and consistency. Data reliability specifically focuses on the accuracy and completeness of data, ensuring it’s trustworthy and dependable for decision-making purposes.

What is an example of data reliability?

A comprehensive data reliability assessment reveals issues within a dataset, such as invalid entries or incomplete values. For instance, tracing a dataset’s origin, checking its transformation over time, and assessing its reliance frequency provides a deeper understanding, especially crucial for confidential information datasets where accuracy is paramount.

What is reliability or validity of data?

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