Strategic Matching -- Tech Note #6
Inside Project Databases
Applies to: LinkSolv Version 5.1+
Last updated:
Thursday October 21, 2004.
SUMMARY
LinkSolv creates several Microsoft Access databases when you create a new linkage project. All of the databases are created in the project folder you specify. Additional databases are created when you add new sources, new self matches, or new dual matches. Information in these databases is updated as you prepare data sources and perform matches. This technical note describes the roles of the various databases.
PROCEDURE
LinkSolv creates several Microsoft Access databases for each linkage project. All databases are created in a folder with the same name as the Project ID. Here are some of the databases created for a project with Project ID LinkDemo.
LinkSolv made two databases for managing the project: LinkDemo.mdb and LinkDemo_Tables.mdb.
The LinkDemo database contains the project wizards and Access links to other project databases.
The LinkDemo_Tables database contains project management tables.
Two databases are created for each data source, for example EMS_In and EMS. The names for all source databases are the same as the unique Source IDs and Link IDs chosen for them. Source databases contain imported and standardized versions of a data source, plus all associated frequency tables. When you compress a source database, the original database is saved temporarily as a backup, for example BackupEMS.
One database is created for each self match and dual match, for example EMSDups and EMSHospital. The names for all match databases are the same as the unique Link IDs chosen for them. Each match database contains all frequency tables used for matching, plus all match results. Detailed match results for each match pass are in EMSDupsPairsPass1, etc. Linkage imputations done using Markov Chain Monte Carlo techniques are in EMSHospital_1, etc.