# Check whether my data is reliable enough to base a decision on

A fitness-for-use review that lists the dataset's limitations and which fields, periods, or segments should not drive this decision.

- Topic: Data & Analysis
- Framework: RTF
- Level: Advanced
- Tags: Analyze, Fill-in Template
- Source: https://www.thinkwithprompt.com/prompts/check-whether-my-data-is-reliable-enough-to-base-a-decision-on

## Prompt

```text
Before I use this data to make or support a decision, help me judge whether it is reliable enough and what its limits are.

**Data:** [PASTE A SAMPLE, PROFILE, OR DESCRIPTION]
**Source and how it was collected:** [system, survey, manual entry, or third party; date range]
**Decision it will support:** [e.g. "which stores to close", "whether to renew the vendor"]
**Known issues:** [OPTIONAL]

Assess it against this decision, not in the abstract:
1. Coverage: does it include the full population, period, and segments the decision is about?
2. Timeliness: is it recent enough?
3. Definitions: are key metrics defined the same way across the period and across sources?
4. Accuracy signals: completeness, duplicates, manually entered fields, unexplained jumps.
5. Sample size: are any segments too small to compare?
6. Proxy risk: is a metric standing in for something it doesn't really measure?

Return:
1. A verdict: Fit to use / Use with caveats / Not fit for this decision, with reasons.
2. A table: Field, segment, or period | Issue | Effect on the decision | Use it? (yes / with caveat / no).
3. The data that should NOT be used for this decision, and why.
4. The limitations I must state when I share results, in plain language.
5. What it would take to make the data usable, and whether that's worth the effort.

Be candid. If the data can't answer the question, say so instead of stretching it. The decision and its risk stay with me and the data owner.
```

## What to fill in

- PASTE A SAMPLE, PROFILE, OR DESCRIPTION
- system, survey, manual entry, or third party; date range
- e.g. "which stores to close", "whether to renew the vendor"
- OPTIONAL

Free to copy and use. From ThinkWithPrompt (https://www.thinkwithprompt.com/), a library of 2,663 curated AI prompts.