01595nas a2200217 4500000000100000008004100001653001500042653001800057653002200075653002300097653001300120100001200133700001200145700001200157245012400169856003300293300001200326490000700338520101800345022001401363 2018 d10aData entry10aPublic health10aQuality assurance10aReporting standard10aResearch1 aFaizi N1 aKumar A1 aKazmi S00aOmission of quality assurance during data entry in public health research from India: Is there an elephant in the room? uhttps://tinyurl.com/y7d8qq7s a150-1520 v623 a

As the adage, "Garbage in, Garbage out" goes, data entry errors may lead to erroneous results and conclusions. Quality assurance during data entry is one of the most neglected components of research and is conspicuously missing in most of the reporting standards. In this study, we reviewed research studies published in Indian Journal of Public Health and Indian Journal of Community Medicine during 2014-2016 and determined the proportion of papers reporting on quality assurance during data entry. Of 110 papers, only 6 (5.5%) papers explicitly included a statement about data quality assurance, with two studies reported to have performed double entry and validation, considered the gold standard in quality-assurance of data entry. This is highly unacceptable. We hereby appeal to the community of researchers, peer reviewers, and journal editors in India to pay attention to this important aspect of research and make reporting of quality assurance of data entry mandatory in every published paper.

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