Assuring the quality of information dissemination: responsibilities of database producers

Abstract

Database producers have long been responsive to quality of information issues and have readily accepted the responsibility for instituting procedures within the information generation process that insure a high level of accuracy. Recently, user attention to database quality has increased. This paper compares the database producers' responsibilities for the quality (self-defined) of their products and their responsibilities to the user community and a new quality scale (other-defined). A survey on current practices related to quality assurance, developed and mailed to NFAIS members, forms the basis for reporting on the present state of quality achievement on the self-defined scale. Excerpts from “Measuring the Quality of the Data”, a report of the Southern California Online Users Group (SCOUG) retreat meeting, are used to discuss the other-defined expectations for quality from database producers.