In reference to databases, data that contain errors. Dirty data can contain such mistakes as spelling or punctuation, incorrect data associated with a field, incomplete or outdated data or even data that is duplicated in the database.
Threats to Data Integrity Describes the many ways that data can be corrupted without the corruption being detected. The page is provided by Rocksoft, which sells a data integrity tool called Veracity.
Dealing With Dirty Data This March 2003 article examines the impact of dirty data on business efficiency.
