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The 6 Steps to Data Management Enlightenment. or…. Can I Ever Fully Trust My Data?. In the beginning…. Implemented EMu in 2006 Brought together 6 different databases Did not clean data first No central standards Resulting errors needed to be cleaned. …my journey began. Step 1:.
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The 6 Steps to Data Management Enlightenment or… Can I Ever Fully Trust My Data?
In the beginning… • Implemented EMu in 2006 • Brought together 6 different databases • Did not clean data first • No central standards • Resulting errors needed to be cleaned …my journey began
Step 1: Innocence
Error: Parties duplicates • Parties to clean up, merge, delete, parse • Tony Williams party record • Split to show that one was a Photographer
Error: Photographer migration • Complaints about strange photographers • Bad data creates bad data • Data entry errors? • Punctuation interpreted incorrectly Mrs. H.U. Silleck Isabella Edenshaw? Roy Phelps Study Collection – Dolls?
Discovery • Tony William’s party record had been stolen! • By the question mark culprit:
Step 2: Hubris
Error: Standalone Parties • Found standalone Party records • Made no sense in context of database Adult Leisure Products Corporation
Adult Leisure? Leisure? Adult?
Discovery • 3 years later, reviewing legacy data for old loans • Filling in missing information • And I came across an old friend
Step 3: Anger
Error: Photographers • Happily replacing data like a good data manager • But there were unanswered questions
Error: the human kind • Currently cataloguing Fragment collection • Thousands of small pieces of objects • Trying to fill out information
Legacy database mimicked storage • But difficult to open • What could EMu tell us?
Step 5: Acceptance
Error: Caption mismatches • Publication information • Came from several sources • Number of errors
Step 6: Enlightenment
On your journey… • Assumptions can lead us down the wrong path • Legacy data is crucial, but not perfect • Use your experience – what else can help? • Document, document, document
Kara Lewis Collections Information Program Manager National Museum of the American Indian lewiskm@si.edu Can I Ever Fully Trust My Data?