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This is more of a usability issue I'd say, looking of suggestions on it.

I have a system that depends on the data entered by the users to be correct, as in the address exists, the name is correct, etc. This is all for places.

Now the way I figured I could do this is that I have every entry peer reviewed, as in, have 5 other users check and ensure the data is correct before allowing it to be indexed and viewed on the site. The problem with this approach is that the site isn't one where the users will inhabit long, just log on look for a place and that's it, so they might not be inclined to verify that other user's entries are correct.

What do you think about this, can anyone suggest a solution that might adjust to my situation?

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  • 5 others? That's many, to my experience in QA, 1 peer is enough for such a purpose, more will only give a minimal improvement. And are the others qualified for checking correctness of the data? I mean, do they know if the adress exist or the name is spelled correctly? – Doc Brown Mar 13 '12 at 7:07
  • This would all be people living within the same city, so anyone else who knows of the place can atest to the correctness of the data – 8vius Mar 13 '12 at 7:15
  • I have lived in the same place for more than 10 years, but I have no ides if the address for somebody across town is correct. I can check for spelling using Google maps, but I have no idea if the rest of it is correct. You can use a service to make sure the address is valid. You could include a way for somebody to be able to flag a possible incorrect value. – mhoran_psprep Mar 13 '12 at 10:25
  • Well the idea for the peer review is to not have faulty values, or not as many in the database, also the same would apply to editing, anyone can edit an entry and it will be reviewed afterwards. – 8vius Mar 13 '12 at 14:00
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It depends on who has the most benefit from the correct data. Do the users of the site have a benefit for themselves if they enter they own data correctly? For example, will they miss a newsletter if they make a typo in entering their correct email address? Then you don't need any peers, just make it easy for your users to double-check the data they entered into the registration form. You could display the data in a comprehensive, easy-to-read dialog and ask the users explicit for confirmation, and offer them always an obvious way to step back to correct any typos.

When the users don't have a real benefit, who else has (and so has an interest in getting the data right)? Other people visiting your site? Then make it easy for them to notify the admin or the address holder when they find wrong data entered into your system. For example, here on SE, the "flag" button provides an easy way to mark posts as probably problematic - create something similar.

And what about living with some errors? Is it really so bad if wrong data goes into the system? Sometimes it is better to allow any data to be entered and viewed, so it gets easier for anyone to see what data is in the system, so you get more feedback about errors. EDIT: here is an additional idea: add a "confirmation" button (or "this information was helpful" button) to each address, and display the statistics how many people confirmed the address to be valid. Or just an "up/downvote" buttons, just like here on SE. This gives everyone more transparency about the quality of the data.

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  • It might not be so bad, but this is an indexing site, people will use it to find places to go to. So if the data is incorrect they might end up in the wrong place. Some bad data is fine if the people get the idea in general, but I don't want there to be blatant errors, like wrong address or wrong map locations. – 8vius Mar 13 '12 at 14:02
  • @8vius: see my edit – Doc Brown Mar 14 '12 at 18:36

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