Sometimes the data you want is only on paper, but you really want to analyze it in a database. So, even though data entry is the proverbial pain, you decide to do it. If you're lucky, you can get some help on the data entry. But even if you do, make sure you do some of the entry yourself - a couple dozen records is probably enough to give you an idea of the judgments that have to be made when reading forms and typing some value in a particular field.
Furthermore, whether you do it all or have some help, you should create some scheme to make it possible to quickly and unmistakably match an individual record on the paper to the corresponding row that was entered in the table.
Access assistance
Microsoft Access has some features to make this easy. When you design the table and specify the field names and types, add two more fields to track data entry: one to show the sequence of the data entry, the other to show the time the row was entered. After you create these fields, they require no extra effort on your part, and they can come in very handy. I'll talk about how to do it first, then the ways you might use the fields. For the sequence indicator, make a field called seq or sequence. For the data type, choose AutoNumber (in Access version 2, it's called Counter.) The first row will have the number 1 in this field, 2 for the second row and so on. The field increments the next value automatically. Once the number is there for a row, it doesn't change. Deletions from the table do not renumber the field and you can't modify it. If your data doesn't have a unique identifier for each case or row, this field makes a good choice. And if your data does have a unique identifier, the sequence field requires no effort on your part and it explicitly shows the order of data entry.
For the data entry time, make a field called EntryTime or RowTimeStamp. For data type, choose Date/Time. The bottom part of the Table Design view is where you specify properties for a field. In the property called default value, type the word Now. You might notice that when you click somewhere else on the screen, Access adds parentheses to the end of the word that you typed. This is a sort of automatic syntax-checking. Access guesses (correctly) that you want to call the built-in function Now(), which returns the time and date according to your computer. After you save the table and start entering data, you have two fields that Access is filling in for you: the sequence and the date/time.
When planning and assigning the data entry, break it up into small manageable batches, especially if there are more than a few hundred records to work with. When a batch is done (say 50 records), log who did it and when, and file the paper originals by batch. With this filing and entry system, coupled with the entry-tracking fields Access is handling for you, you'll have an unambiguous way to match and audit your work. Here is an example use for the sequence field. Say you're typing in questionnaire responses. Instruct all the people doing the data entry to write the sequence number generated by Access on the piece of paper containing the data. If there is a question about the integrity or accuracy of a particular row in the table, you can find the paper original. The timestamp field will help if you need to look at all the records that were entered, say, on Tuesday afternoon, or all the records entered from Friday onward.
Extra entry tips
Richard Mullins can be reached at (573) 882-2127, or send e-mail to richard@nicar.org