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Definition of Terms |
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| Term |
Definition |
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| Variable |
An entity that can be used to store a value based on predefined criteria, e.g. the variable DOB stores a person's date of birth in a pre-defined date format, 99/99/9999 |
| Deterministic matching |
The electronic matching of one dataset to another using unique variables present in both datasets. |
| Probabilistic matching |
The electronic matching of one dataset to another using similar or the same variables in both datasets, the matching is based on the probability (likelihood ratio theory) that the record in one dataset is the same as the record in another dataset. |
| Manual matching |
The matching of one dataset to another by a person comparing each record in one dataset with each record in a second dataset. |
Boyle BMC Medical Informatics and Decision Making 2008 8:52 doi:10.1186/1472-6947-8-52 |
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