Normalization Case

Normalization is when a database is restructured to reduce redundancies in data and making errors less likely. Common errors include update, insertion, and deletion. Update errors are when an update is made to the database and it “replaces” data it should not. Insertion is when a table requires data that is unrelated to what the user wants to enter. A deletion error is when the removal of one row affects two or more other themes (Kroenke & Auer, 2011).

The Huffman Driver’s Log database has been changed to the third normal form (3NF) form of normalization. The requirements for this form is that the data be in table form, has no attribute redundancies, has all primary keys identified, no partial dependencies, and no transitive dependencies. To do this, the attributes were separated into logical groups such as driver information and his or her emergency contact info. The reason this is separated is because the data on the driver is able to exist without the other contact info. The same reason the driving logs were separated. There were transitive dependencies between the start and stop times in the logs. Thus, each time log needed a new table. Doing this also allows the drivers to make more than two entries.

The original tables did not allow for data to be entered into any field without a great deal of duplicate data being needed in that row. This new form for the database is more flexible and useful while it reduces the potential for data abnormalities.