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Data Normalization Explained Simply

Normalization is a method to organize data in tables to eliminate redundancy, simplify updates, and reduce errors. The document outlines a step-by-step process to achieve normalization, progressing through First Normal Form (1NF), Second Normal Form (2NF), and Third Normal Form (3NF), ultimately resulting in four distinct tables: Patient, Physician, Visit, and Visit_Physician. This structured approach ensures that data is maintained efficiently and accurately.

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9 views4 pages

Data Normalization Explained Simply

Normalization is a method to organize data in tables to eliminate redundancy, simplify updates, and reduce errors. The document outlines a step-by-step process to achieve normalization, progressing through First Normal Form (1NF), Second Normal Form (2NF), and Third Normal Form (3NF), ultimately resulting in four distinct tables: Patient, Physician, Visit, and Visit_Physician. This structured approach ensures that data is maintained efficiently and accurately.

Uploaded by

mahnnorchaudary
Copyright
© All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

🎯 What is Normalization?

Normalization is a way to organize data in tables so that:

• There is no repeated data


• It’s easier to update
• There are no mistakes or confusion in the data

🧾 Let’s Look at the Table You Shared:

VisitD Pat PatAg PatCi


VisitNo PhyNo PhySpecialty Diagnosis
ate No e ty
1/13/2 LAHO EAR
V10020 P1 35 D1 INTERNIST
023 RE INFECTION
1/13/2 LAHO
V10020 P1 35 D2 NURSE PRACT. INFLUENZA
023 RE
1/20/2 SIALK
V93030 P3 17 D2 NURSE PRACT. PREGNANCY
023 OT
1/18/2 KASU CARDIOLOGIS
V82110 P2 60 D3 MURMUR
023 R T

You can see:

• One patient can visit more than one doctor


• Doctor information is repeated (like “NURSE PRACTITIONER” for D2)
• Patient details are repeated (like PatAge 35 for P1)
✅ Step-by-step Normalization:

🔹 Step 1: First Normal Form (1NF)

Goal: Make sure each cell has one single value only, and no duplicates in columns.

This table is mostly okay, but if one row had multiple doctors or diagnoses, we’d split
that row into multiple rows — one for each.

Your table already looks like 1NF.

🔹 Step 2: Second Normal Form (2NF)

Goal: Remove repeated patient and doctor details.

Imagine this:

• If we need to change patient age, we would have to update it in multiple rows!


That’s bad.

So let’s break the big table into smaller, focused tables:

1. Patient Table

PatNo PatAge PatCity


P1 35 LAHORE
P2 60 KASUR
P3 17 SIALKOT

2. Doctor Table

PhyNo PhySpecialty
D1 INTERNIST
D2 NURSE PRACT.
D3 CARDIOLOGIST

3. Visit Table

VisitNo VisitDate PatNo Diagnosis


V10020 1/13/2023 P1 EAR INFECTION
V10020 1/13/2023 P1 INFLUENZA
V93030 1/20/2023 P3 PREGNANCY
V82110 1/18/2023 P2 MURMUR

4. Visit_Doctor Table

VisitNo PhyNo
V10020 D1
V10020 D2
V93030 D2
V82110 D3

Now we keep patient, doctor, and visit details in separate places. If something
changes (like patient age), we only need to update it once!

🔹 Step 3: Third Normal Form (3NF)

Goal: Make sure columns only depend on the key, not on other non-key columns.

Good news! After Step 2, you're already in 3NF. There are:

• No repeated data
• No columns depending on other columns

Data Anomalies Eliminated

Type of Anomaly Description Solved By


Changing city of P1 in multiple
Update Patient Table
rows
Can't add new doctor without a
Insert Physician Table
visit
Separation of
Delete Deleting a visit deletes doctor info
concerns

✅ Final Set of Relations (3NF)


1. Patient(PatNo, PatAge, PatCity)
2. Physician(PhyNo, PhySpecialty)
3. Visit(VisitNo, VisitDate, PatNo, Diagnosis)
4. Visit_Physician(VisitNo, PhyNo)

🎉 You Did It!


So we took a messy big table, and turned it into 4 small clean tables:

1. Patient
2. Doctor
3. Visit
4. Visit_Doctor (which doctor was seen in which visit)

📌 Why Do This?

• ✔ Easy to update
• ✔ No data repetition
• ✔ Less chance of mistakes

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