DQA Fundamentals
A DQA is a process to help USAID staff and implementing partners understand the strengths and weaknesses of their data and the extent t o which the data can be trusted to influence management d ecisions. A DQA refers to USAID’s standard practice for assessing data quality, documenting any limitations in data quality, and establishing a plan for addressing those limitations. A DQA should be conducted to understand and document the extent t hat data meet o r do not meet t he five data quality standards documented in ADS 201.3.5.7:
1. Validity: Data should represent the intended result clearly and adequately.
2. Integrity: Data should have safeguards to minimize risk of bias, transcription error, or data manipulation.
3. Precision: Data should have a sufficient level of detail to permit informed management decision making.
4. Reliability: Data should reflect stable and consistent data collection processes and analysis methods over time.
5. Timeliness: Data should be available at a useful frequency, should be current, and should be timely enough to influence management decision making.