I have been thinking a bit about how to increase data quality when entering data. There is already a lot that could be done by using wizards and asking users the right questions.
But I think that it can be made even easier when using graphical hints and explicitly pointing out to users what information should be entered in the database.
In the previous article I mentioned using a wizard and guiding users through the process of entering data. When the right questions have been answered (such as country and label) the user could be asked what the label of the release looks like . For example they could be given the following choice (left: typical label EMI used in Spain in the 1980s, right: typical label EMI used in Spain in the 1970s):
Based on this they could then be guided through the process of picking the right data. Also, using which label was picked already means that some checks can be applied. For example, if the user picked the 1980s label, but said the release is from the 1970s, then that is obviously not correct.
Let's assume that the user picked the 1970s label (the right one). The user could then be presented with a picture like this to show which information should be entered (in this case the depósito legal, the rights society and the catalog number):
This will make it easier to get the common data from a release and could be done for other pieces of information as well, such as sleeves that have a generic design (although labels tend to be much more generic).
Creating the "generic" versions of sleeves takes some effort, but I think it could be a very helpful tool to increase data quality in the Discogs database.
But I think that it can be made even easier when using graphical hints and explicitly pointing out to users what information should be entered in the database.
In the previous article I mentioned using a wizard and guiding users through the process of entering data. When the right questions have been answered (such as country and label) the user could be asked what the label of the release looks like . For example they could be given the following choice (left: typical label EMI used in Spain in the 1980s, right: typical label EMI used in Spain in the 1970s):
 |
| Examples of labels EMI used in the 1980s (left) and 1970s (right) |
Based on this they could then be guided through the process of picking the right data. Also, using which label was picked already means that some checks can be applied. For example, if the user picked the 1980s label, but said the release is from the 1970s, then that is obviously not correct.
Let's assume that the user picked the 1970s label (the right one). The user could then be presented with a picture like this to show which information should be entered (in this case the depósito legal, the rights society and the catalog number):
 |
| Example of where data can possibly be found on a typical 1970s EMI release from Spain |
This will make it easier to get the common data from a release and could be done for other pieces of information as well, such as sleeves that have a generic design (although labels tend to be much more generic).
Creating the "generic" versions of sleeves takes some effort, but I think it could be a very helpful tool to increase data quality in the Discogs database.
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