Data entry clerk: Difference between revisions

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{{Short description|Profession}}

{{Globalize|date=July 2024}}

[[File:Data-entry-clerk.jpg|thumb|A data entry clerk]]

A '''data entry clerk''', also known as '''data preparation and control operator''', '''data registration and control operator''', and '''data preparation and registration operator''', is a member of staff employed to enter or update [[data]] into a computer system.<ref>{{cite web

|quote=We are looking for a Data Entry Clerk to type information into our database

|url=https://resources.workable.com/data-entry-clerk-job-description

|title=Data Entry Clerk job description template|date=2015-12-11

}}</ref><ref>{{cite web

|quote=Data entry is now accomplished via a system of terminals or other input devices

|title=Technology and Its Impact on Employment

|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yIl9gEUmwFoC

|date=1990}}</ref> Data is often entered into a computer from paper documents<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://nationalcareersservice.direct.gov.uk/advice/planning/jobprofiles/Pages/DataEntryClerk.aspx |title = Data entry clerk}}</ref> using a [[Keyboard (computing)|keyboard]].<ref>{{cite web

|url=http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-data-entry-clerk.htm

|title=What is a Data Entry Clerk?}}</ref> The keyboards used can often have special keys and multiple colors to help in the task and speed up the work.<ref>{{cite web

|url=https://www.michigan.gov/careers/0,1607,7-170-46398-64343--,00.html

|title=Data Entry Clerk |website=Michigan Jobs Portal}}</ref> Proper [[ergonomics]] at the workstation is a common topic considered.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Motivating Ergonomic Computer Workstation Setup |journal = International Journal of Occupational Safety and Ergonomics|volume = 18|issue = 1|pages = 27–33|date=2012 |author=S. O. Sigurdsson

|pmc = 3985273|pmid = 22429527|doi = 10.1080/10803548.2012.11076912}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Office Ergonomics |website=WA.gov |url=https://www.lni.wa.gov/IPUB/417-133-000.pdf |access-date=2018-11-23 |archive-date=2018-05-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180516231317/http://www.lni.wa.gov/IPUB/417-133-000.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |website=UQ.edu.au

|url=https://www.uq.edu.au/hupp/attachments/workplace-hs/HUPP2.20.2computerworkstations.pdf

|title=Computer Workstations: Design & Adjustment}}</ref>

The data entry clerk may also use a mouse,<ref>{{cite journal

A '''data entry clerk''', sometimes called a '''[[Audio typist|typist]]''', is a member of staff employed to type [[data]] into a [[database]] using a [[Keyboard (computing)|keyboard]], [[optical scanner]], or [[data recorder]].<ref>[http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-data-entry-clerk.htm What is a Data Entry Clerk?] from Wisegeek</ref> The keyboards used can often have specialist keys and multiple colours to help them in the task and speed up the work.<ref>[https://www.michigan.gov/careers/0,1607,7-170-46398-64343--,00.html Data Entry Clerk] from Michigan Jobs & Career Portal</ref> While requisite skills can vary depending on the nature of the data being entered few specialized skills are usually required aside from touch typing profeciency with adequate speed and accuracy. The ability to focus for lengthy periods is necessary to eliminate or at least reduce errors. When dealing with sensetive or private information such as medical, financial or military records, than a person's character and discretion becomes very relevant as well. Beyond these traits no technical knowledge is generaly required and these jobs can even be worked from home.<ref>[http://www.easyparttimejobs.com/dataentryjobs/ Data Entry Jobs] from Easy Part Time Jobs</ref>

|title=Carpal tunnel syndrome and the use of computer mouse and keyboard

|author=J. F. Thomsen |journal=BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders

|date=2008|volume=9

|issue=1

|page=134

|doi=10.1186/1471-2474-9-134

|doi-access=free

|pmid=18838001

|pmc=2569035

}}</ref><ref>Cut&Paste/Copy&Paste Data Entry jobs were listed as a category on Indeed.com, a jobs site. There were 244 entries on Aug. 10, 2018 - compared to about 1300 of the type/keyboard types of jobs. {{cite web

|quote=244 Copy Paste Data Entry jobs available on Indeed.com

|url=https://www.indeed.com/q-Copy-Paste-Data-Entry-jobs.html

|title=Copy Paste Data Entry Jobs, Employment}}</ref> and a manually-fed scanner may be involved.<ref>{{cite book

|quote=Information can be automatically fed, or manually fed into a business accounting ... standard personal computers or workstations running applications; scanning devices for standardized data entry ...

|title=Professional Accounting Essays and Assignments

|url=https://books.google.com/books?isbn=1312069317 |isbn=978-1312069312

|author=Miracel Griff |date=2014}}</ref>

Speed and accuracy, not necessarily in that order, are the key measures of the job.<ref name=Speed.v.Accuracy/>

==Examples==

For a mailing company, data entry clerks might be required to type in reference numbers for items of mail which had failed to reach their destination, so that the relevant addresses could be deleted from the [[database]] used to send the mail out. If the [[company]] was compiling a database from addresses handwritten on a [[questionnaire]], the person typing those in would be a data entry clerk. In a cash office, a data entry clerk might be required to type expenses into a database using numerical codes.

==MulesHistory==

[[File:Bundesarchiv B 145 Bild-F038799-0034, Wolfsburg, VW Autowerk.jpg|thumb|[[Keypunch]] operators at Volkswagen in 1973]]

When [[spammers]] are advertising for data entry clerks they are usually looking for [[money mule|mules]] to operate online accounts for them ([[email]] accounts, [[Ebay]] accounts, [[bank accounts]], [[Paypal]] accounts, etc.) See [[Internet Fraud]] for information on these kinds of [[scams]].{{fact|date=August 2012}}

The invention of [[punched card]] data processing in the 1890s created a demand for many workers, typically women, to run [[keypunch]] machines. To ensure accuracy, data was often entered twice; the second time a different keyboarding device, known as a verifier (such as the IBM 056) was used.

In the 1970s, punched card data entry was gradually replaced by the use of [[video display terminal]]s.

==Examples==

For a mailing company, data entry clerks might be required to type in reference numbers for items of mail which had failed to reach their destination, so that the relevant addresses could be deleted from the [[database]] used to send the mail out. If the [[company]] was compiling a database from addresses handwritten on a [[questionnaire]], the person typing those ininto the database would be a data entry clerk. In a cash office, a data entry clerk might be required to type expenses into a database using numerical codes.

==Optical character/mark recognition==

DueWith to the advancementadvance of technology, many data entry clerks no longer work with hand-written documents. Instead, the documents are first scanned by a combined OCR/OMR system ([[optical character recognition]] and [[optical mark recognition]],) which attempts to read the documents and process the data electronically. The accuracy of OCR, and hence the need for ongoing data entry clerks, varies widely based upon the quality of the original document as well as the scanned image; hence the ongoing need for data entry clerks. Although OCR technology is continually being developed, many tasks still require a data entry clerk to review the results afterwardsafterward to check the accuracy of the data and to manually key in any missed or incorrect information.<ref name=OCR.OMR>{{cite web

|url=https://www.dataentryoutsourced.com/resources/human-interface.php

|title=Is Technology Removing Human Interface in Data Entry?}}</ref>

An example of this system would be one commonly used to document [[health insurance]] claims, such as for [[Medicaid]] in the [[United States]]. In many systems, the hand-written forms are first scanned into digital images (jpegJPEG, tiffPNG, bitmap, etc.). These files are then processed by the optical character recognition system, where many fields are completed by the computerized optical scanner. When the [[OCR software]] has low confidence forin a data field, it is flagged for review -– not the entire record but just the single field. The data entry clerk then manually reviews the data already entered by OCR, corrects it if needed, and fills in any missing data<ref name=OCR.OMR/> by simultaneously viewing the image on-screen.

The accuracy of personal records, as well as billing or financial information, is usually ofvery great importanceimportant to the general public as well as the health carehealthcare provider. Sensitive or vital information such as this is often checked many times, by both clerk and machine, before being accepted.

==Job requirements, security, and pay==

Accuracy is usually more important than speed, because detection and correction of errors can be very time-consuming.<ref name=Speed.v.Accuracy>{{cite web |quote=Accuracy is more important than speed |url=https://www.creighton.edu/fileadmin/user/doit/docs/banner/Data_Entry_rules.pdf |title=Data Entry Rules |website=Creighton.edu |access-date=2018-08-10 |archive-date=2012-07-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120729101608/https://www.creighton.edu/fileadmin/user/doit/docs/banner/Data_Entry_rules.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> Staying focused and speed are also required.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Accuracy and speed feedback: Global and local effects |journal=Experimental Aging Research |volume=40 |issue=3 |pages=332–356 |author=D.R. Touron |date=2014|pmc=4009509 |pmid=24785594 |doi=10.1080/0361073X.2014.897150}}</ref><ref name="OCR.OMR"/>

The job is usually unskilled so [[veteran staff]] are often employed on a [[temporary work | permanent basis]] after a large survey or census has not been completed. However, most companies handling large amounts of data on a regular basis will spread the contracts and workload across the year and will hire [[part-time]].

The job is usually unskilled[[Working class|low-skilled]], so [[veteran staff]] are often employed on a [[temporary work | permanenttemporary basis]] after a large survey or census has not been completed. However, most companies handling large amounts of data on a regular basis will spread the contracts and workload across the year and will hire [[Part-time job|part-time]].

Data entry clerks working with physical hand-written documents is a declining role in the developed world because employees within a company frequently enter their own data as it is collected now instead of having a different employee do this task. For example, an [[Operator (profession)|operator]] working in a [[call centre]] or a [[cashier]] in a shop. Cost is another reason for the decline. Data entry is labour intensive for large batches and therefore expensive so large companies will sometimes outsource the work to third world countries where there is no shortage of cheaper unskilled labour.

DataThe role of data entry clerks working with physical hand-written documents is aon decliningthe roledecline in the developed world, because employees within a company frequently enter their own data, as it is collected now, instead of having a different employee do this task. ForAn example, of this is an [[Operator (profession)|operator]] working in a [[call centrecenter]] or a [[cashier]] in a shop. Cost is another reason for the decline. Data entry is labour labor-intensive for large batches and therefore expensive, so large companies will sometimes outsource the work, either locally or to third -world countries where there is no shortage of cheaper unskilled labourlabor.<ref>{{cite web |quote=Many think outsourcing is something that happens overseas, but ... the new trend in outsourcing is local, not overseas. |url=https://timesofsandiego.com/opinion/2018/07/06/the-new-trend-in-outsourcing-is-local-not-overseas |title=Opinion: The New Trend in Outsourcing Is Local, Not Overseas |author=Jennifer Barnes |date=July 6, 2018}}</ref><ref>There is another term, Off-shoring: this is not the same as outsourcing</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Outsourcing - the emerging trend |url=https://www.networkworld.com/article/2247620/saas/outsourcing-the-emerging-trend.htm |date=August 25, 2009l }}{{Dead link|date=January 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

{{Asof|2016}}, the median pay was between $19,396 and $34,990 in the United States.<ref name="Data Entry Qualifications"/>

{{Asof|2018}}, ''The New York Times'' was still carrying ads for the job title ''Data Entry Clerk''.<ref>{{cite web|website=jobs.NYTimes.com|date=October 19, 2018|url=https://jobs.nytimes.com/Job/55531515/data-entry-clerk-job-in-highland-park-il|title=Data Entry Clerk ...}}{{Dead link|date=January 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://jobs.nytimes.com/Jobs/data-entry-clerk-jobs-in-norristown-pa?source=5%26countryId=3 |title=Data Entry Clerk jobs in ...}}</ref>

==Education and training==

For the job as a data entry clerk, competent [[math]] and [[English language|English]] skills may be necessary.<ref name="Data Entry Requirements">{{cite web |url=https://nationalcareersservice.direct.gov.uk/advice/planning/jobprofiles/Pages/DataEntryClerk.aspx |title=Job Description of Data Entry |website=NationalCareersService.Direct.Gov |access-date=April 23, 2016}}</ref> The worker will need to be very familiar with office software such as word processors, databases, and spreadsheets.<ref name="Data Entry Requirements"/><ref name="Data Entry Qualifications">{{cite web |url=http://www.payscale.com/research/US/Job=Data_Entry_Clerk/Hourly_Rate |title=Most organizations do not require any education higher than a high school diploma |website=[[Payscale.com]] |access-date=April 23, 2016}}</ref> One must have quickness, focus, and customer service skills.<ref name="Data Entry Requirements"/>

Education higher than a [[high school diploma]] is often not required, but some companies require a bachelor's degree.<ref name="Data Entry Qualifications"/> Companies also hope the worker will have one year of experience in a related field.<ref name="Data Entry Qualifications"/>

==References==

{{Reflist}}

==External links==

{{Commons category|Data entry workers}}

[[Category:Office and administrative support occupations]]

[[Category:Data processing]]

[[de:Datentypist]]

[[es:Mecanógrafo]]

[[it:Data entry]]