Insights from data quality assessment

Goal: Generate insights from the data quality.

Approach: Study the quality of the data and evaluate data gaps.

Data quality assessment

  1. Copy the data quality matrix template.
  2. Critically reflect on the data quality and add your observations on all four data quality dimensions of reliability, completeness, temporal correlation, spatial correlation.
  3. Fill in the table with the codes for high, medium, low, for the respective levels.
    • If you are using the SCA online report form, you can use the “”span data-color”” codes to generate the colours.
    • If you are using your own way of reporting, simply fill the matrix with the levels of high, medium, low and mark the colours manually.
  4. Once done, copy the table into field 15 of the online report form, or simply into your report. (See explanation in Online Report > How to copy a table from a spreadsheet into the report)
  5. Write a few paragraphs summarising the data quality matrix and add them to field 16 of the online report form, or your report.

Data gap assessment

  1. Summarise in a couple of sentences for which lifecycle stages or materials you have found data and for which not, based on your data gap analysis in Step 2.
  2. Write a number of sentences on how you closed data gaps: You can describe which sources, assumptions and calculations were used to downscale data or approximate data to close the gaps.
  3. If you wish, you can also add some reflections on what kind of other data would be beneficial to have.
  4. Add this text to field 17 of the SCA online report form or your own report.

Outline of the video

  • Last part of insights: data quality.
  • You need to know and report how reliable your data and insights are.
  • Evaluate your data quality with the data quality matrix
    • Use the data quality matrix with the lifecycle stages (LCS) and the 4 dimensions for data quality.
    • Under the table template there are the criteria or score points for the respective dimensions that need to be applied to the cells to determine high, medium and low.
    • You can either only colour code the cells with the criteria, or also add notes into the fields. If you have longer notes or explanations, then those can also be added under the table in your report.
    • To colour code the fields for the report, within a cell (can be any cell, with or without other text content), insert the respective code, e.g. , where “red” stands for low.
    • See this example of what the filled matrix could look like in the spreadsheet and what it will look like in an example report.
    • You then need to add a couple of sentences describing the data quality matrix.
  • Summarise your data gaps
    • Instead of using the entire data gap matrix, you should summarise in a couple of sentences for which LCS or materials you have found data and where you have gaps. Here is where you can also state that you downscaled or approximated data.