Checking your data quality

Verification can happen at various levels and is an iterative process. Authority and reputation of sources can play a part, but it's important to decide whether your data needs corroboration or triangulation (which is where you verify data by comparing three separate sources).

If your data sources are themselves compiled and processed from different sources, provenance and traceability become an issue. Verification of external sources will make your workflow heavier and increase costs but may be necessary to maintain good data quality.

Here are some resources that can help you:

• The Investigating with Databases chapter of the Verification Handbook for Investigative Journalism gives advice on verfying data sets before and after analysis.

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