Database Terminology

Criteria – rules that you include in the design of a query - these rules specify values or patterns that you want the fields to match or contain to be returned by the query.

Data – a body of facts or information

Database – a structured collection of records or data that is stored in a computer so that a computer program or application like Microsoft Access can consult it to answer queries.

Data Normalization – the processes for removing redundant data from a database or related databases.

Data Redundancy – duplicate data. Should not appear in a good database design. Removing duplicate data is achieved by arranging the data into subject-matter tables and performing data normalization.

Data Relationship -

• One to One – each record in the first table can have only one matching record in the second table, and each record in the second table can have only one matching record in the first table.
• One to Many – take the primary key from the “one” table and add it as an additional field to the “many” table. To bring the data back together, Access takes the value in the “many” table and looks up the corresponding value in the “one” table. In this way the values in the “many” table reference the corresponding values in the “one” table.

Field – one or more characters treated a a unit and constituting part of a record. For example, last name is a field.

Filter – A filter limits a view of data to specific records without requiring you to alter the design of the underlying query, form, or report.

Primary Key – a unique identifier for a record. For example, Student ID.

Query – process to get just those fields from a table that pertain to the task at hand.

Table – a set of data in a database consisting of one or more records.

Record – a group of related fields, or a single field treated as a unit of information. For example, last name, first name, address, and phone number are four fields that could make up a record.

Relational Database – an electronic database comprising multiple files of related information usually stored in tables of rows (records) and columns (fields). A link can be established between tables or files that have a matching field. For example, Student ID may be used in numerous tables. This allow simultaneous queries of both tables or files.

Sort – to organize information in alphabetical or numerical order based on the contents of a field of data.