Human Reliability as a Source of Error in Research

Human error is embedded in every human endeavour. Given that research is conducted by humans, it is therefore prone to human error. This paper focuses on the errors that derive from transcribing data across formats. These 'inputs' errors arise largely from the monotony of the data entry pr...

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Main Authors: Chevez Bernaldo de Quiros, A., Lopez, Robert, Aranda-Mena, G., Edwards, P.
Other Authors: Professor Andrew Dainty
Format: Conference Paper
Published: Association of Researchers in Construction Management 2008
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/5287
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author Chevez Bernaldo de Quiros, A.
Lopez, Robert
Aranda-Mena, G.
Edwards, P.
author2 Professor Andrew Dainty
author_facet Professor Andrew Dainty
Chevez Bernaldo de Quiros, A.
Lopez, Robert
Aranda-Mena, G.
Edwards, P.
author_sort Chevez Bernaldo de Quiros, A.
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description Human error is embedded in every human endeavour. Given that research is conducted by humans, it is therefore prone to human error. This paper focuses on the errors that derive from transcribing data across formats. These 'inputs' errors arise largely from the monotony of the data entry process and may mean that an otherwise thoroughly designed research can potentially produce misleading conclusions. The paper reports the results of a quality checking process developed to monitor the transcription of data from paper-based questionnaires, collected as part of current PhD research, into the computer. Following the same entry method, the data from all questionnaires received were input twice by the PhD Candidate, then twice again by another participant. The 28,140 entries were matched and any differences analysed in order to quantify the occurrence of input errors were committed and identify the nature of these errors. The results suggest that where the input errors were committed had more impact on the findings revealed from each question than the total number of input errors committed.
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institution Curtin University Malaysia
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publishDate 2008
publisher Association of Researchers in Construction Management
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-52872017-01-30T10:45:08Z Human Reliability as a Source of Error in Research Chevez Bernaldo de Quiros, A. Lopez, Robert Aranda-Mena, G. Edwards, P. Professor Andrew Dainty error Human reliability research design Human error is embedded in every human endeavour. Given that research is conducted by humans, it is therefore prone to human error. This paper focuses on the errors that derive from transcribing data across formats. These 'inputs' errors arise largely from the monotony of the data entry process and may mean that an otherwise thoroughly designed research can potentially produce misleading conclusions. The paper reports the results of a quality checking process developed to monitor the transcription of data from paper-based questionnaires, collected as part of current PhD research, into the computer. Following the same entry method, the data from all questionnaires received were input twice by the PhD Candidate, then twice again by another participant. The 28,140 entries were matched and any differences analysed in order to quantify the occurrence of input errors were committed and identify the nature of these errors. The results suggest that where the input errors were committed had more impact on the findings revealed from each question than the total number of input errors committed. 2008 Conference Paper http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/5287 Association of Researchers in Construction Management fulltext
spellingShingle error
Human reliability
research design
Chevez Bernaldo de Quiros, A.
Lopez, Robert
Aranda-Mena, G.
Edwards, P.
Human Reliability as a Source of Error in Research
title Human Reliability as a Source of Error in Research
title_full Human Reliability as a Source of Error in Research
title_fullStr Human Reliability as a Source of Error in Research
title_full_unstemmed Human Reliability as a Source of Error in Research
title_short Human Reliability as a Source of Error in Research
title_sort human reliability as a source of error in research
topic error
Human reliability
research design
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/5287