Week 7 Chapter 6: Databases and Data Warehouses

List, describe, and provide an example of each of the five characteristics of high quality information.
Accuracy

Are all values of information correct?

For example the spelling of someone's name

Completeness

Are any of the values of information missing?

For example a street address. It the postcode missing?

Consistency

Is the summary information provided in agreement with the detailed information?

For example do the total of all fields equal the true total of the individual fields?

Uniqueness

Is each piece of information represented only once?

For example are there duplicates of events, transactions??

Timeliness

Is the information current and up to date?

For example is the information regularly updated?

Define the relationship between a database and a database management system.
A database is an organised set of data. A database management system is a collection of programs which work together to manipulate and manage the database itself. This system also provides a boarder between the database and its users and other programs.

Describe the advantages an organisation can gain by using a database.
These advantages are:
-Increased Flexibility
-Increased Scalability and Performance
-Reduced Information Redundancy
-Increased Information Integrity (Quality)
-Increased Information Security

Define the fundamental concepts of the relational database model.

Entities and Attributes:
Entities- are people, places, things, transactions or events about information which is stored.

Attributes- are characteristics or properties of an entity class and are also known as columns or fields.

Keys and Relationships:
Primary Key- is a field which individually identifies a given entity in a table. These provide a way of distinguishing between each entity in a table.

Foreign Key- this is a primary key that is found in one table which appears as an attribute in another. It acts in a way which provides a logical relationship between the two tables.

Describe the benefits of a data-driven website.

These Benefits Include:
-Development
-Content Management
-Future Expandability
-Minimising Human Error
-Cutting Production and Update Costs
-More Efficient
-Improved Stability
-Increased Customer Satisfaction
-Information is able to Studied Efficiently and Effectively

Describe the roles and purposes of data warehouses and data marts in an organisation.

Data Warehouse- is a large collection of data from sources for query, reporting and analysis, which supports business analysis activities and decision-making tasks. A Data Warehouse mainly addresses the needs of a company or business as a whole.

Data Mart- is a subset of data from a data warehouse. A Data Mart predominately addresses specific functions and/or department's needs. These are most suitable for smaller organisations.

Reference's:

Baltzan, Phillips, Lynch, Blakey, Business Driven Information Systems, 1st Australian/New Zealand Edition, Mc Graw Hill, 2010.