Maintaining the Integrity of Global Data

• Avoid the use of a free-form text field when accepting country name information during data capture, since free-form text entry can promote missing, misspelled or ambiguous information. Instead, use a country drop down list on data capture forms, prompting users to select the appropriate country name from a pre-structured list. However, incorporating drop down lists for city or state/province listings in all but a few select countries can become cumbersome and confusing to users.