Databases: Normalizing Access Data\nby Beth Melton, MVP, MOS Master Instructor\nSkill rating level 6. So just what is Normalization and why is it so critical for an efficiently designed database?Normalization is the process of organizing your data and breaking it into smaller tables that are easier to manage. The primary reason we normalize a database is to prevent redundant data.That alone should be reason enough; who wants to type information more than what is absolutely necessary?Normalization is often over-looked, because we may think understanding and applying the principles of normalization is far too complicated.In reality, normalization really isn't that complicated and if your database is not normalized it can be inaccurate, slow, inefficient, and it might not produce the data you expect. Not to mention if you have a normalized database, queries, forms, and reports are much easier to design!"
"So what's all this about Normalizing my data, and not using Flat file format that I keep hearing about. This section will give you a no nonsense explanation of what this all means for the absolute beginner."
The problem isn't with statistical tests themselves but with what we do before and after we run them. First, we count if we can, but counting depends a great deal on previous assumptions about categorization. Consider, for example, the number of homeless people in Philadelphia, or the number of battered women in Atlanta, or the number of suicides in Denver. Is someone homeless if he's unemployed and living with his brother's family temporarily? Do we require that a women self-identify as battered to count her as such? If a person starts drinking day in and day out after a cancer diagnosis and dies from acute cirrhosis, did he kill himself?\n\n
"It's fun to imagine the future. Every few months, someone takes a stab with a concept video or a proof of concept prototype, providing a glimpse into human-computer interaction and data visualization in a decade or two. What will it really look like? It's anyone's guess. But if people's imaginations are any indication, the future will be filled of data displays and 3-dimensional holographic objects projected into physical space."
"In the realm of public policy, we live in an age of numbers. To hold teachers accountable, we examine their students' test scores. To improve medical care, we quantify the effectiveness of different treatments. There is much to be said for such efforts, which are often backed by cutting-edge reformers. But do wehold an outsize belief in our ability to gauge complex phenomena, measure outcomes and come up with compelling numerical evidence? A well-known quotation usually attributed to Einstein is "Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted." I'd amend it to a less eloquent, more prosaic statement: Unless we know how things are counted, we don't know if it's wise to count on the numbers."
"This site presents add-ins, templates, standalone software and resources that assist in building models, performing analysis, distributing models to other people, compliance, and managing spreadsheet information systems and spreadsheet model assets. "
"30 Resources to Find the Data You Need
Posted by Nathan on Oct 1, 2009 to Data Sources, Featured / 68 comments
Let's say you have this idea for a visualization or application, or you're just curious about some trend. But you have a problem. You can't find the data, and without the data, you can't even start. This is a guide and a list of sources for where you can find that data you're looking for. There's a lot out there. "
"Today we seemingly have the ability to measure everything. But sometimes too many metrics can obscure, as opposed to illuminate, the way forward. What truths are immutable, and how can we be sure that the “most measurable medium” remains as brand-friendly as possible? In this metrics manifesto, we’ll take a brand advertiser-centric view of the measurement ecosystem and try to sort it all out. We measure everything we can… but are we measuring everything we should?"
"An entity graph of people, places and things, built by a community that loves open data.
Freebase is joining Google! Learn more »"
"We head to Boston tonight. Heading there for Lucene Revolution, a conference that is all about open-source search. It's really about the future of search and the role of distributed systems, the search requirements that are needed and the challenges faced by companies like Twitter, LinkedIn and Cisco. "
"Linked Data is about using the Web to connect related data that wasn't previously linked, or using the Web to lower the barriers to linking data currently linked using other methods. More specifically, Wikipedia defines Linked Data as "a term used to describe a recommended best practice for exposing, sharing, and connecting pieces of data, information, and knowledge on the Semantic Web using URIs and RDF.""
"With so much government data to work with, developers are creating a wide variety of applications, mashups, and visualizations. From crime statistics by neighborhood to the best towns to find a job to seeing the environmental health of your community–these applications arm citizens with the information they need to make decisions every day. Enjoy these highlights of the hundreds of applications available"