CSC ch. 9 vocab

Database

A collection of data structured so that desired information can be quickly found. Can exist in a paper format, e.g. a phone book, but is more efficient when in an electronic format. With a phone book in electronic format you could easily find to whom a number or a given address belonged, or reorder the records by phone numbers. A typical database is structured with fields and records that are organized into tables (files).

data warehouse

A data warehouse is a collection of diverse data from sources that one would not think of relating that is specifically structured for query and analysis. Developing a data warehouse involves processes that extract the data, then clean and date it. Large healthcare databases would produce volumes of information if put into a warehouse and subjected to data mining.

relational database

A database model in which the tables are structured so they are logically associated with each other by key fields. Any data element can be found by knowing the name of the table, the field name, and the value in the primary key field. provides maximum searching with multiple variables. It allows processed, selected data to be exported into a spreadsheet, a statistical package, or word processing software and to be presented in many different ways- all without reentering a piece of data more than once. Its the best choice.

foreign key

A field that contains data identical to that in the master table, but is in the detail (child) table.

view

A look at the data; these vary according to the requirements of the user. Tables, forms, queries, and reports are all different views of data.

parameter query

A query that when run asks the user to specify data for a given field so that only records that match that "parameter" are returned.

validation table = look up table

A table that provides a list of allowable entries for a field that is linked to that field. The data in the drop-down boxes in the Google Advanced Search are an example.

table, word processing table, spreadsheet

A typical database is structured with fields and records that are organized into tables (files).

query

Search function for a relational database.

aggregated (data) for analysis

The database should contain only the data that will be aggregated for analysis.

primary key

The key field in the master (parent) table.

Database model

The structure on which a database is constructed. Two early models were the hierarchal and network. A current model is relational.

saving data in a database (maybe auto, may require SAVE)

When using a database, the only things that you need to save are objects such as a table, query, or form after you create them. Entering data into a table or form does not change the basic design; hence, they do not need to be saved after data are entered. The only time you need to save is after you create an object or after you make a change to the object in the design mode. When you close this object, you will be prompted to save. If you want to send a piece of a database that you have created, such as just a table, to someone, you will need to send the entire file, or copy the piece to another database and send that.

attribute (field)

a characteristic that can be applied to any selected object. These include features such as bold facing text, the margins, size, and color. In designing e-Learning it denotes factors, such as color or movement, that a medium implements. In either context, the type of communications desired, and characteristics of that topic determine which attributes will best create understanding. In a database, it refers to a field.

fields

a column in a database table for a specific piece of data. For example, an entry for patient temperature would be entered into the temperature field or column. In databases a field may be referred to as an attribute. In word processing this term describes data inserted into a mail merge document, for example a city.

flat database/ flat file

a database that contains only one table. A spreadsheet worksheet is an example as is a table in a word processor.

child table

a detail table in a relational database. The child table has a field that is identical to one in the master table so that data from other fields in the child can be integrated with data from fields in the master table.

boolean logic and boolean logic querying

a form of logic seen in computer applications in which all values are expressed either as true or false. Symbols used to designate this are often called boolean operators. They consist of "and," "or," and "not." They may be combined with mathematical operators such as equal to (=), more than(>), less than (<).

terminology list

a list of terms presented to a user to facilitate data entry for electronic documentation. May be known as a "pick list."

entity (table or file)

a name that is used for a table in databases. Can also be used in database terminology to refer to a file.

shows 3 tables in 1:M, 1:M relationship

a one to many relationship: a record in the main, or Master Infections table, may have none, or an infinite number of matching records in the antibiotics table. This type of relationship is symbolized in the relationship window by the infinity symbol next to the antibiotics, or subordinate table.

lookup list or table

a predetermined list of entries that will be allowed in a field in a database. The data enterer then selects one of the entries by clicking on it.

sorting

a reordering of records in a database. Sorts can be done of the groupings created by a sort such as a secondary and tertiary sort.

online analytical processing (OLAP) or Fast Analysis of Shared Multidimensional Information (FASM)

a sophisticated process of analyzing a relational database.

DBMS (data base management system)

a system that manages a collection of files, often in a table format that enable users to store, modify, and extract information. A hospital information system and a computerized library system are examples.

detail table

a table in a relational database that has a field that is identical to one in the master table. This enables data from other fields in the detail table to be integrated with data from other fields in both tables to create a form or a report. Sometimes called a child table.

virtual view

a view of something that is not based in a physical reality. For example, data in a database is stored in a table, but one can view it in many different formats. These formats are a virtual view.

data mining

an analytical, automated process that uses computer "intelligence" to discover hidden relationships in large databases that are too complex to be found using conventional statistical techniques. Requires, however, someone familiar with the data. Is not done blindly.

de-identified data

data without a patient's name

Data

facts without meaning. ex. 37

(flat file, hierarchical, network, relational)

flat file: a database in which the data are all in one table. hierarchical: a database with tables that are organized in the shape of an inverted tree like taxonomy or the file structure of a disk. Records are linked to a base, or root, but through successive layers. network: has a similar structure to that of the hierarchical model, but the trees can share branches. Relational: there can be two or more tables that are connected by identical information in fields in each table that are called key fields. This allows the data in a record from one table to be matched to any piece or pieces of data in records in another table.

aggregated data

groups of data together used to answer questions or queries.

report

in a database a formatted and organized presentation of data. If the report is generated from a relational database, the data can reside in one or many tables and can represent one, any, or all the fields in any of the tables. It's purpose is to provide information from the data.

Master table

in a relational database the table that is the core of the database. It is the table that contains the data around which a report revolves. It is the table that contains one, but never more than one, match for each record in another table. For example, if you build a relational database focusing on clients, the master table will be the demographic data about the client. The child or detail tables will be those that contain other information that will be related back to the demographic table. May also be called the parent table.

form

in databases or spreadsheets, a screen designed to ease data entry. Regardless of the order of the fields in the database, on a form the fields can be placed in any location that facilitates data entry. They may also be assigned a label that may not correspond to the field name in the database, but which provides information to facilitate data entry. Additional information for the individual entering data can also be included. Somewhat analogous to a 3 x 5 card used to record data.

queries

one of the characteristics that give databases their power. In asking for information, you created a query, or a set of conditions that the located records should meet.

patient table, for patient name only, nowhere else

patient's name is located in patient's table and no where else. The keys allow the name to be associated with the data in related tables.

record

physically speaking, a row in a database. It will contain all the pieces of data in the database about the subject of that row. For example, a record in a telephone book would contain the name, address and phone number for one individual. In database terminology may be referred to as a tupple.

manipulating data

relational databases provide the ability to reorder record, a process known as sorting as well as additional ways of searching, or querying.

datatype

tells the database how to process or handle the data in that field and limits the type of data that the field will accept.

SQL = structured query language

the name of the coding that is used for querying in many databases. It is an ANSI (American National Standards Institute) standard computer language for retrieving and updating data in a database.

secondary data

the use of data or documents that have been collected for another purpose, such as data in a medical record, for other purposes. An example would be discovering how many patients with a given condition have a specific treatment. In the EHR world it refers to healthcare data collected for patient care, then being deidentified and used in research.

forms

used to add, edit, and view data from a table or query

query

used to ask questions of one or more related tables or other queries.

discovering knowledge in data

using a process known as data mining to uncover information. Large clinical databases possess an inordinate amount of information that is not amendable to simple querying. This is where knowledge discovery in databases (KDD) comes into play.