RESOURCE CENTRE MANUAL
HEALTHLINK WORLDWIDE
6.8.3 Data entry guidelines
Once the database has been designed, guidelines need to be written on how to
enter data into each individual field, to ensure that data is entered correctly. The
guidelines should cover, for example, what to enter, and how to format and
punctuate entries. It is useful to write the guidelines as a table.
Field name Field Guidelines
no.
Examples
Record
number
001 Unique number made up of 5 digits.
The field must not be empty
18764
Location
900 Classification code followed by first 3
letters of author’s name. If the author is
an organisation, use the first 3 letters of
the organisation name, not its acronym.
HC4.422 AGG
AA3 WOR
TYPE 060 Type of document
This field must not be empty
Article
Manual
DOCNO
120 Document number, where given
WHO/DAP/94.1
Title 200 Title of book or article. Use sentence case. Vaccination against
Separate main title from subtitle with the pregnancy : miracle or
use of a : leaving a space either side of the menace?
:
No full stop at the end
This field must not be empty
Edition
260 Edition of a book, unless first edition,
abbreviate edition to ed.
2nd ed.
Author
300 Author(s).
- Person’s surname entered first in capitals RICHTER, Judith
followed by forename in initial capitals; up BANDAWE, C R
to 2 more authors in the same format
- If more than 3 authors, enter the first one
only and type ‘et al’ in the COMP field
- First organisation’s name entered in upper
case with acronym in brackets
- Up to 2 more organisations entered in
initial capitals
WORLD HEALTH
This field is repeatable
ORGANIZATION (WHO)
World Bank
6.8.4 Database management
Database management is something that can easily be forgotten, but is an
important aspect of having a database. Although data may be entered by any
member of staff, the database should be managed by one person. The database
manager is responsible for the accuracy and consistency of the data entered.
Database management also includes backing up the database onto a floppy disk
26 SECTION 6: COMPUTERS, ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATION AND DATABASES