White Papers

This paper was published in the Federal Committee on Statistical Methodoloty (FCSM) 2012 Conference Proceedings.

ADI presented two talks at the Federal Committee on Statistical Methodology (FCSM) Conference on Jan 10-11, 2012 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, 801 Mount Vernon Place, NW, Washington, DC 20001.

The first presentation by K. Bradley Paxton was titled:  "Use of Synthetic Data in Testing Administrative Records Systems"

Written by:  K. Bradley Paxton, and Thomas Hager (ADI, LLC)

Click on the PDF link below to read more about the presentation and view the slide deck.

In doing forms data capture, whether with just human data entry keying from paper forms or with Optical Character Recognition (OCR), Optical Mark Recognition (OMR) and Key From Image (KFI), it has been customary to employ manual methods for data quality assurance.  These methods involve a process we refer to as Double Key & Verify (DK&V), wherein one keyer is asked to key a particular data field, and then another keyer is asked to key the same field (preferably without collusion).  If the results from both keyers agree with the sampled field, then the sampled data field is deemed to be correct.  If they do not, then a third party is usually employed to divine the correct answer.  This classic DK&V process is slow and costly; so, in practice, the amount of data sampled for Quality Assurance (QA) purposes is often smaller than desired for useful statistically valid results. 

A major problem with capturing data from forms filled out by respondents is measuring the accuracy and efficiency of the system. This is true whether traditional “heads-down” keying from paper (KFP), “heads-up” keying from image (KFI), and/or handprint Optical Character Recognition (OCR/ICR) is capturing the data.

It is a fundamental fact that in order to improve the accuracy and efficiency of a system, it is necessary to be able to measure these performance factors. Using our new, patent pending Digital Test Deck® technology, you can now assess your forms processing system more easily and accurately than ever before.

Forms processing technology can be a bit complicated, so in this white paper, we attemptto provide a simple explanation of the basics, and how Digital Test Deck ® technology can be used to save you a lot of money while insuring system accuracy.