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Glossary

Missing Data Terms

Explanations of the types of missing data reported on qualitycompendium.org.

+ ShowMissing Data Terms
Not applicable (N/A)

When "Not applicable" or "N/A" appears on this website, it is an indication that that specific field is not pertinent to the QIS it is referencing. "Not applicable" is often used for descriptive fields that follow-up on categorical fields with pre-determined categories. In those pre-determined fields, there is often a "Other (describe)" option and then a separate field for additional explanation. If a QIS had no additional explanation, then "Not applicable" is used.

None

None is used to indicate fields where a state or locality could have applicable data, but they have nothing to report. None is most often used in in general, descriptive text boxes asking for additional information about any of the categories of data.

Unknown

Unknown is used as to indicate data that exists but that a state or locality is unable to obtain with any specificity. For example, some states were unable to report the specific amount of funding devoted to the QIS. In these cases, the funding amount is indicated as Unknown.