Quality Assurance (QA) - Preventing Data Issues: Recommended Practices

<< Back to Manage Quality

• Use and cite well-documented methods for data collection or acquisition
• For new methods, write documentation that establishes quality criteria for the data
• Utilize staff who are trained to correctly collect field data, or who demonstrate adherence to established data acquisition procedures
• Set Quality Criteria for all of the data used in each project
• Use discipline-specific standards for quality whenever possible (proven data structures, domains)

Quality Assurance (QA) - Preventing Data Issues: Examples

Generic: 40 Examples of Quality Assurance

Published Quality Assurance Standards

• U.S. FBI: Quality Assurance Standards for Forensic DNA Testing Laboratories
• U.S. EPA: Project Quality Assurance and Quality Control
• U.S. EPA: Implementation of Quality Assurance Requirements for Organizations Receiving EPA Financial Assistance

Use of Standard Methods

• National Field Manual for the Collection of Water-Quality Data
• Groundwater Technical Procedures
• Discharge Measurements at Gaging Stations
• National Water Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Protocols: Method, Sampling, and Analytical Protocols
• National Environmental Methods Index (NEMI) - a searchable catalog of commonly used, well-documented environmental methods
• National Coal Quality Inventory (NaCQI)
• Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology (IRIS): Quality Assurance (includes links for software to calculate data-quality metrics)

Page last updated 6/21/21.