Objective 14: Identify appropriate validation and verification checks;
Methods of validation: range check, reasonableness checks, data type checks,
consistency checks, presence, format and length.
Methods of verification: double entry and proofreading (to identify and correct
typographical and transpositional errors).
Methods of verification: double entry and proofreading
The two main methods of verification for detecting typographical and
transposition errors are double entry and proofreading.
Double entry is a data verification method that requires that the data is entered
twice; this should be done by two different data entry clerks and both entries are
checked against each other to ensure that they are identical.
If the two copies are the same we can be sure the data has been input without
any errors.
Some online forms utilise double entry to verify data items such as passwords and
email addresses, although this is not as reliable as when two independent persons
enter data.
Proofreading is a manual method of verification during which a data entry clerk
visually checks the source document against data that has already been input by
another data entry clerk.
Proofreading is less reliable than double entry verification but it is significantly
quicker.
Methods of validation
We have seen that validation is a process that ensures that data entered into a
computer system conforms to a set of validation rules.
Validation checks include:
• Range check: is the data value within the expected range? (Example: number of
passenger seats in a vehicle must be in the range 4–68.)
• Reasonableness check: is the data reasonable within the context? (Example: it is
unreasonable for an employee without a driving licenses to be allocated the role
of driver.)
• Data type check: is the data of the intended data type? (Examples: ‘colour’ must
be text; ‘length’ must be a number.)
• Consistency check: does the data relate correctly to other data? (Example: if
type is minibus then number of seats must be less than 20.)
• Presence check: is data present? (Example: all fields that are marked ‘required’
must have data entered.)
• Format check: does the data conform to the format required? (Example: date
must be in the format dd/mm/yyyy.)
• Length check: is the data of the correct length? (Example: year of birth must be
four digits, e.g. 2004.)
Reference. Howard Campbell and Alan Wood, Information Technology for CSEC
Examination 3rd Edition, Page 57