The term “reliability” refers to processes that ensure that personal data is gathered legally, safely stored and never used or shared in violation of a person’s rights. It covers everything from ensuring that data collection tools conform to industry standards, training data collectors, and setting clear guidelines for data management.

It is crucial to distinguish between the reliability of data (such as whether the exact outcome could be obtained when the measurement were repeated) and data validity (such as whether it accurately measures what it is meant to measure). Data reliability is concerned with consistency (such as whether identical results could be obtained by repeating the measurement) and data validity is more concerned with accuracy (such as if it accurately measures the thing it is supposed to measure).

Unreliable data can result in many negative effects. For example when a company rely on unreliable data for decision-making or for deciding on its strategy, it could end up wasting resources or investing in projects that are not profitable. It could also cause distrust between customers, employees and partners. In a fantastic read about The Must-Have Tools for any Mergers and Acquisitions certain instances, using unreliable data could lead to legal and regulatory consequences.

Enhancing the reliability of data is a challenging task, however, there are numerous methods to achieve this. Some of the most effective strategies include adopting standard procedures, educating data collectors, and providing reliable tools. It is also important to establish feedback loops that allow users to report any errors. Lastly, it’s important to ensure the integrity of data by making sure that all systems are properly back up and backup and recovery processes work according to plan.