[Year 12 IT Apps] IT applications 2007 exam: assessor's report

[Mark Kelly]

'Validating' spelling seems to be an increasingly prickly and tricky issue.

Firstly the new study design has thrown out the Information Processing 
Cycle, so we don't stress acquisition and validation as we used to in 
IPM (and maybe IS).

Secondly, names of suburbs are quite a different beast to people's names.

Suburb names are codified and regulated and can be put in limited list 
(albeit one that needs editing as time goes by). So, they could be 
validated by existence, data type, and existence in a limited list.

Human names, however, can never be put in a limited list and could only 
be validated by existence, and data type.

Hmmm. This might be an interesting research project.

Denny, Chris Z wrote:
> I believe the spelling of a suburb is data validation. We can use either
> electronic validation (spell check) or manual validation (proof read).
> One of these data validation techniques should be able to pick up a
> misspelt name or suburb.
> 
> It also highlights the importance of the data acquisition step, making
> sure that you do collect the correct and complete data. If the form is
> being filled in by the person to whom the data refers, then complete and
> explicit instructions are required to ensure that complete and correct
> data is collected. Also having the fields on a manually completed form
> to be exactly the same title and in exactly the same location and order
> on the entry screen is important so that less data entry mistakes are
> made.
> 
> Chris Denny
> ICT Co-ordinator
> Trafalgar High School
> Phone:    56331733
> Fax:        56332378
> -----Original Message-----
> From: itapps-bounces at edulists.com.au
> [mailto:itapps-bounces at edulists.com.au] On Behalf Of Allan Barnes
> Sent: Monday, 21 April 2008 9:45 AM
> To: 'Year 12 IT Applications Teachers' Mailing List'
> Subject: RE: [Year 12 IT Apps] IT applications 2007 exam: assessor's
> report
> 
> I would suggest that examples of mis-spelling are actually cases of data
> integrity rather than data validation. Data can be regarded as valid if
> it
> is of the correct data type, data length, etc., but if it is in the
> correct
> format but mis-spelt, then it would be an issue of data integrity, I
> would
> have thought.
> 
> It is very hard to validate spelling of names, for example - if it is
> entered as text we can validate for that, but how do we know if 'Tim' is
> valid data or not? Unless we enter every name into the program and then
> check the bank of names against the input box, it can't be validated by
> the
> program, but it can be manually validated by the user. Similar to using
> spell checker in Word - if the word is in the dictionary it can be
> checked,
> but if the word doesn't exist in the dictionary then Word won't pick up
> the
> mis-spelling, all it will point out is that it doesn't exist. 
> 
> 
> 
> Kind regards
>  
> Allan Barnes, CEO
> Australian Institute of Education and Training
> P.O. Box 171
> Brunswick West 3055
> Ph: (03) 9387 2051
> FAX: (03) 9387 3470
> Mobile: 0409 428 221
>  
> -----Original Message-----
> From: itapps-bounces at edulists.com.au
> [mailto:itapps-bounces at edulists.com.au]
> On Behalf Of Timmer-Arends
> Sent: Sunday, 20 April 2008 4:50 PM
> To: Year 12 IT Applications Teachers' Mailing List
> Subject: Re: [Year 12 IT Apps] IT applications 2007 exam: assessor's
> report
> 
> Hello Mark
> 
>> Checking the spelling of a suburb is surely data validation?
> interesting question.
> 
> if a person types Balwin instead of Balwyn does that make the data 
> incorrect? If there is such a place as Balwin I guess at the very least 
> their entry is misleading, and therefore having some sort of scan
> through a 
> list of existing place names would be a useful validation technique. But
> is 
> it the spelling that's being validated or the existence of a place with
> that
> 
> spelling?
> 
> ...and anyway, does an old CRT monitor falling in the forest make a
> sound if
> 
> there's no one there to hear it....????
> 
> Two weeks in and mania is already starting to hit
> 
> Regards
> Robert T-A 
> 
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-- 
Mark Kelly
Manager - Information Systems
McKinnon Secondary College
kel AT mckinnonsc.vic.edu.au
McKinnon Rd, McKinnon 3204, Victoria, Australia
Direct line / Voicemail: 8520 9085 Fax +613 9578 9253

Webmaster - http://www.mckinnonsc.vic.edu.au
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