Training activity information
Details
Create a quality assurance and quality control plan for a data collection that will be repeated regularly ensuring that limitations of the methodology are reported
Type
Developmental training activity (DTA)
Evidence requirements
Evidence the activity has been undertaken by the trainee.
Reflection on the activity at one or more time points after the event including learning from the activity and/or areas of the trainees practice for development.
An action plan to implement learning and/or to address skills or knowledge gaps identified.
Considerations
- Data profiling activities
- Data cleansing activities
- Restricted inputs
- Mandatory inputs
- Missing values
- Duplicate detection
- Data transformation and processing
- Detecting errors
Reflective practice guidance
The guidance below is provided to support reflection at different time points, providing you with questions to aid you to reflect for this training activity. They are provided for guidance and should not be considered as a mandatory checklist. Trainees should not be expected to provide answers to each of the guidance questions listed.
Before action
- How does this plan contribute to applying data collection methodologies with consideration for quality and limitations?
- What is the data collection methodology? What are common quality assurance and control measures for data collection? How should limitations be identified and reported?
- What will you learn about designing robust quality assurance and control processes? How will you approach identifying and documenting methodological limitations?
- Will you review best practices for quality assurance in data collection? Will you consider potential sources of error in the methodology?
- How do you feel about creating this quality plan? Are you familiar with quality assurance principles in data management?
In action
- What specific quality assurance and quality control measures are you currently outlining in your plan? How are you addressing potential sources of error or bias in the data collection methodology? What strategies are you developing for documenting and reporting the limitations of the methodology? Why have you chosen these particular QA/QC measures?
- Are you finding it straightforward to identify relevant QA/QC procedures for this type of data collection? Are you anticipating any challenges in implementing these procedures? What are you learning about the importance of proactive quality management in data collection? How does this planning relate to your understanding of data quality principles?
- If you identify a new potential risk to data quality, are you adding additional measures to your plan? Are you refining your approach to reporting limitations based on the specific characteristics of the data and collection method? Are you considering different ways to monitor the effectiveness of your QA/QC plan?
On action
- What were the main quality assurance and quality control measures you included in your plan? How did you address potential limitations of the data collection methodology? What strategies did you outline for reporting these limitations?
- What did you learn about the importance of QA/QC in recurring data collection? Did you identify any potential challenges in implementing your plan? How did your in-the-moment decisions shape the QA/QC measures you included? How does this relate to ensuring the reliability and validity of health data? What are the key elements of a comprehensive plan for reporting methodological limitations?
- How will you approach developing QA/QC plans in the future? What specific QA/QC techniques or reporting methods do you want to learn more about? What are your next steps to improve your ability to create robust QA/QC plans?
Beyond action
- With your current understanding of quality assurance and quality control in data management, how would you assess the comprehensiveness of the plan you created? Have you been involved in implementing or reviewing QA/QC plans for recurring data collections since this training activity? How did your initial planning experience compare to the realities of implementation? Did feedback from your training officer or peers highlight any areas of QA/QC planning you need to consider more carefully? Re-examine your reflect-on-action notes for this training activity. Has your understanding of ‘methodological limitations’ broadened since then?
- Has your awareness of QA/QC principles influenced how you approach data collection tasks, whether new or existing? Has this exercise helped you understand the importance of documenting limitations in data collection methodologies? How has this training activity contributed to your understanding of the need to ensure data quality and reliability in healthcare? Has it influenced how you critically evaluate the quality of data you encounter in reports or analyses?
- What skills in planning, attention to detail, and risk assessment did you develop through this training activity that will be valuable in ensuring data integrity in future projects? What further learning or resources will you seek to enhance your expertise in QA/QC planning for data collection? How will your ability to create robust QA/QC plans contribute to the production of reliable and trustworthy health data analyses in your future career?
Relevant learning outcomes
| # | Outcome |
|---|---|
| # 2 |
Outcome
Apply data collection methodologies using both pre-existing and new data sources, considering quality assurance, quality control and limitations relating to data collection. |