Referencing Data
For Credibility, Clarity & Convenience
Q. Ever watched a presentation and wondered how
and where the content
was sourced?
Q. Ever been asked a question about data you
have provided and been unable to remember where it came from?
Q. Often asked to update graphs/spreadsheets
that other people have created - and
spend far too long trying to replicate the data to understand how
it was compiled?
If the answer to any of the above is ‘Yes!’ then this
guide is for you.
Its aim is to help anybody involved in the preparation of
presentations and other materials to avoid situations like the
above.
So what makes a good reference
A good reference enables any other person to:
- Find the data for themselves
- Understand how the results were derive
What’s included in a good reference
- The full name of the original data source used (‘National
Health Stats’, for example, is not sufficient as it does not name
the actual source)
- Details of what the data represents, e.g. sales into pharmacy,
prescribing behaviour of Primary Care Physicians, etc.
- Country coverage: if you are focusing on global or regional
data, you should state how many and which countries contribute to
that
- Corporation: state whether or not subsidiaries are
included
- Time periods (if this is not clear from the graphic)
- The publisher / name of database with the date of update or
version
- Currency and exchange rates, i.e. are you using actual or a
constant exchange rate?
- Definition of your market, e.g. C10A1, and any other
customisations you have made
- Explanation of measure used (e.g. value, volume, prescriptions
dispensed or written, etc.) and any calculations you have
performed
- When referring to information derived from primary research,
this should be sourced as follows: project report name; date;
question number; and question wording plus slide numbers if
appropriate
Who are the EphMRA Syndicated Data Committee?
Comprised of Full (Pharma) members, the Syndicated Data
Committee exists to:
- Promote and share best practice of using syndicated data
sources
- Develop tools to promote understanding of this data
- Use our collective influence to enhance quality and
outputs
Download this document as a PDF
A useful leaflet
about what should be included in a reference