Abstract
BackgroundIn the conduct of epidemiological studies in less developed countries, while great emphasis is placed on study design, data collection, and analysis, often little attention is paid to data management. As a consequence, investigators working in these countries frequently face challenges in cleaning, analyzing and interpreting data. In most research settings, the data management team is formed with temporary and unskilled persons. A proper working environment and training or guidance in constructing a reliable database is rarely available. There is little information available that describes data management problems and solutions to those problems. Usually a line or two can be obtained in the methods section of research papers stating that the data are doubly-entered and that outliers and inconsistencies were removed from the data. Such information provides little assurance that the data are reliable. There are several issues in data management that if not properly practiced may create an unreliable database, and outcomes of this database will be spurious.ResultsWe have outlined the data management practices for epidemiological studies that we have modeled for our research sites in seven Asian countries and one African country.ConclusionInformation from this model data management structure may help others construct reliable databases for large-scale epidemiological studies in less developed countries.
Highlights
In the conduct of epidemiological studies in less developed countries, while great emphasis is placed on study design, data collection, and analysis, often little attention is paid to data management
While great attention is placed on sample size estimation, statistical analysis, and primary data collection, surprisingly little attention is paid to the computerization of the data [1,2,3]
The data management organization The office space In less developed countries (LDCs), data management is often specific to a research project; it emerges when the project starts functioning and disappears at the end of project
Summary
In the conduct of epidemiological studies in less developed countries, while great emphasis is placed on study design, data collection, and analysis, often little attention is paid to data management. A line or two can be obtained in the methods section of research papers stating that the data are doubly-entered and that outliers and inconsistencies were removed from the data. Such information provides little assurance that the data are reliable. Despite enormous advances in information science technology over the last two decades, data management practices in studies in LDC are usually less than ideal – a fundamental requirement that investigators frequently overlook. Individuals working in data management are not familiar with concepts about epidemiological studies, specific objectives of the studies, and the complexities in management (page number not for citation purposes)
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