data validation

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data validation (data vetting, data cleaning) The process of checking that data conforms to specification. It is usually the first process undertaken on raw data. The following are among the kinds of checks that may be carried out: number and type of characters in a data item; range of values of a data item; correctness of check character(s); consistency between one data item and others in the same record; correctness of check totals for individual records; correctness of batch controls.