Data collation and analysis
GIGO... - 'Garbage in, garbage out'
Many new, or routine, exercises by regulatory authorities, trade associations, or multi-site organisations require data to be gathered from various different people and locations. This information must be collated, processed, and then analysed before the findings are written up and ultimately communicated to whoever needs the aggregated data. The results may be used to identify trends, or to inform important areas of policy.
Inaccuracies at any stage during this process, or methodological flaws, can skew the results so badly that the entire process can be undermined and rendered more or less meaningless. Muddled figures will lead to misleading communications and bad decisions.
Just one zero out of place in a single cell of a large spreadsheet may have the capacity to introduce substantial margins of error into cumulative totals and results.
If you are looking for someone with a reliable track record in this area, please contact us to discuss whether our consultancy can assist with your data-gathering and analysis process.
We have much experience of various exercises involving the collation, analysis and presentation of data – often commercially confidential information, and where the results could have had significant regulatory and/or financial implications for the organisations concerned, or have been used to inform major strategic decisions.
We also know what can sometimes go wrong with unreliable data. Building in cross-checks, and having an innate eye for figures, can help in spotting, questioning and eliminating wrong numbers.