1. Now what the hell do we do?

2. Go from Overwhelmed to Armed and Ready May 2008 InformOntario Symposium

3. Workshop Objectives Begin to identify existing data not in compliance with InformOntario Style Guide Provide a variety of search strategies to locate some offending data Demonstrate use of Distribution Codes in relation to making data changes (suggested strategy) Demonstrate use of saved searches, advanced search and other search strategies for gathering records Demonstrate use of Find and Replace Tools to make changes to live data Provide participants with a variety of pre-prepared searches to use in CIOC software in local communities.

4. The Basic Process Identify Creation of Use of Making Reviewing Problem Searches to Distribution Global Global Areas Gather Codes for Changes to Changes & Review Records Tracking Data Made Existing Data

5. Naming Standard Style Guide and Naming Standard are intended to be used together Naming related issues can be addressed with similar searching strategies and global data changes as style related changes Look in other CIC databases to get a sense of how others are naming orgs and programs Aim for consistency with other geographic areas, not just internally

6. Style Guide Some Considerations All data elements considered mandatory by InformOntario are covered in Style Guide but many CIOC fields are not described Importance of application of Style Guide to French language Implementation is a process, not an event This workshop will not cover all areas where data changes may be required

7. Use of Distribution Codes Distribution codes should be created that provide a flag so data sets collected with searches and modified with global operations can be later retrieved AFTER find and replace operations have been performed Distribution codes provide a means of excluding records from searches so previously flagged records do not need to be reviewed again

8. Legal Status (now Service Level) Key Points Major structural change suggested for software including field name change, reduction of existing Service Level selections to six Review of existing data in this field is necessary to prepare to re-assign values when this section implemented in software Some confusion evident between Funding and Legal Status Core United Way Funding should be described in Funding, not in Legal Status

9. Phone Fields (General) Key Points Hyphen - between area code and number, not parentheses ( ) Text before phone number, extension after Remove existing unnecessary punctuation Replace semicolons and other identified punctuation between phone numbers with asterisk Avoid repeating phone numbers across various phone fields without very good reason to do so

10. TTY, Fax Key Points Type of access more important than toll free status Do not put in Toll Free Toll free TTY or Fax numbers should be preceded by Toll Free If Fax is the same as Office Phone, ensure Call first precedes the number & fix any inconsistencies in Call first wording

11. Executive and Contact Fields Key Points Avoid acronyms in Titles (CEO, ED, CFO, etc) Toll free TTY or Fax numbers should be preceded by Toll Free If Fax is the same as Office Phone, ensure Call first precedes the number & fix any inconsistencies in Call first wording All duplication across Executive/Contact fields in terms of Contact names, titles, organization names, phone , fax, email etc. should be reduced as much as possible.

12. Site and Mail Addresses Key Points Try to remove all unnecessary duplication between these two fields Remove unnecessary punctuation from these fields including colons, semicolons, hyphens Site Address is used in geo-coding so make sure all component fields are as fully and accurately filled in as possible Ensure that ORG 1 name is not repeated in either Mail c/o field or Site Building field

13. Boundaries Key Points Discretionary, free text entry Style Guide: Be as wordy as necessary as this information should be exact and thorough, within reason. Information in this field IS displayed though not searchable for users on 211Ontario.ca Information currently contained in Areas Served General Notes should be moved to this field, if applicable

14. Boundaries Key Points Continued Style Guide recommends structural changes to CIOC where Areas Served General Notes data would move to Boundaries (if appropriate) and that Areas Served General Notes field would be removed from software * a thorough review of existing Areas Served General Notes data is recommended with an eye to reassigning in Boundaries field if appropriate

15. Hours Key Points Do not abbreviate months Do not enter all year unless theres reason to think it might not be Always use am & pm Format to be entered like: 8 am-4:30 pm 12 noon-10:30 pm Abbreviate days of the week Include hours even if it seems obvious

16. Accessibility Key Points Do not abbreviate months Structural change recommended in CIOC by style guide where Not accessible removed and fewer accessibility choices are available This field should be filled in whenever possible

17. Fees Key Points Always populate this field, even when obvious Indicate Free for services such as food banks, information lines, distress lines, etc Suggested CIOC software change Change name None to Free

18. Funding Key Points Style Guide: it is only mandatory to indicate core United Way funding now contained mostly in Service Level Style Guide recommends it best to concentrate on core and stable funding (that is regular year-by- year contributions from major funders) Anything maintained beyond core United Way funding is discretionary and up to individual centres

19. Descriptions Key Points A great deal of the time spent in the process of bringing databases into line with Style Guide recommendations will have to focus on descriptions Clean up all unprofessional, wordy, flowery adjectives and first person references. Get rid of all references to we our your us Data editing will need to occur on a record by record basis for many existing records Begin new data entry practices around description as soon as possible

20. Languages Key Points This is a mandatory field Never leave blank This likely has significant implications across CIOC as many records will have no languages information at present Only include French language where it has been verified that an adequate level of service would be available to a client and indicate those services officially designated bilingual

21. Languages Key Points This is a mandatory field Never leave blank This likely has significant implications across CIOC as many records will have no languages information at present Only include French language where it has been verified that an adequate level of service would be available to a client and indicate those services officially designated bilingual

22. Anyone feel like this yet?

23. To Conclude Key Points Style Guide impacts not only on existing data but also on current data entry Database administrators should begin the task of re-training any staff/volunteers in specific data entry changes NOW otherwise the data will be bad from the start Consider putting together some single page reference sheets for staff around some of the specific data entry changes required in your area

24. Questions & Hands On Any specific issues that were not discussed? Any questions about any of what was? If time permits, now would be the time to try a few of these saved searches (but dont do any data manipulation until youve set up Distribution codes!