The purpose of database software is to store, manage and extract a large amount of organised information for one or more users.
Know why organisations use databases to:
● improve productivity
● make decisions
● present information
● interpret data
● perform calculations
● manage large datasets.
Examples of uses of a database:
● health (data – doctors, patients, appointments)
● employment (data – name, payroll, department)
● agencies (data – client, services, reservations)
● sale of goods (data – orders, goods, invoices)
● libraries (data – books, loans, members)
● police (data – offenders, crime, officers).
used in a database Tools and techniques include, e.g.:
● table structures
The use of validation rules in a database is key to the restriction of data entry into the database itself. A validation rule allows the creator of the database to specify a rule/condition that a field must-have for the data that is entered to be able to be saved. An example of this would be the use of a validation rule that specifies that the field will only accept a value of either M or F for male or female and no other letter or sentence.
Indexing is a feature that enables faster searching and data retrieval of data from a database with a large amount of data in it. In most cases, indexing is automatically set up on fields that are set as primary keys.
A record is a piece of data that is entered into a database table this could be information on an employee or an item in a shop's stock.
|
Employee ID |
Employee Name |
Employee Address |
Employee Town |
Employee Postcode |
Employee Telephone |
|
1 |
Anne Other |
123 Street Road. |
London. |
SE10 1SD |
07123456789 |
One-to-One
One-to-Many
Many-to-Many
Improving productivity and accuracy in a database, e.g.:
● creating and presenting financial reports
● record-keeping
● backing up data
● collaborative working
● searching and planning information.
Links to Learning Outcomes |
Links to Assessment criteria |
|
|---|---|---|
|
Learning aim A: Investigate online services and online communication |
1A.1 Identify the uses of databases and how the tools/techniques are used in two different databases. 2A.P1 Explain the uses of databases and how the tools/techniques are used in two different databases. 2A.M1 Review how the tools/techniques are used in two databases to improve productivity, accuracy and usability. 2A.D1 Discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the databases. |
Listening: Listen and respond to speakers ideas and perspectives, and how they construct and express meanings
Reading: Read and understand texts, selecting material appropriate to purpose, collating from different sources and making comparisons and cross-references as appropriate.
Analysis of information: Interpreting Results, Drawing conclusions from data, Comparing data
Collect and record data: Questionnaires, Observation, Tally
Clarifying Learning Objectives - Using coloured discs and/or peer explanation, check to ensure that learners have understood the learning objectives.
Just a Minute - At the end of the lesson teachers ask learners to summarise their learning. The comparison of these summaries against learning objectives informs planning.