Core Database Principles

When embarking on any new project or learning experience, it is essential that you have a strong foundation of understanding constructed from key concepts and parameters. As you begin your work with databases and database design, you should develop a firm understanding of key concepts and parameters that are critical to the foundation of all database design.

In this Discussion, you examine these key fundamental principles of database design.

To prepare:

Review the information in this week's Learning Resources concerning relational and entity relational databases. Focus on how the two are interconnected.

Review information concerning cardinalities and consider what they are, how they are developed, and their role in database design.

Review information concerning business rules, what they represent, and how they are reflected in the entity relationship diagrams.

Review the conceptual model (Figure Q4.5) on page 150 of your text, Coronel, C. & Morris, S. (2015). Database systems: Design, implementation, and management (11th ed.). Stamford, CT: Cengage Learning. Think of a similar example of how each of these concepts would be reflected in a database design for your own organization.

1) A brief analysis of the connection between entity relational modeling and relational databases.

2) Discuss a brief example of a conceptual model that could be used in your own organization and list at least one business rule and two cardinalities that apply to that model.

Required Resources

Coronel, C. & Morris, S. (2015). Database systems: Design, implementation, and management (11th ed.). Stamford, CT: Cengage Learning.

Chapter 3, "The Relational Database Model" (review) (pp. 70-113)
Chapter 4, "The Entity Relationship Model (ERM)" (review) (pp. 115-160)
Cox, J. & Lambert, J. (2013). Step by step: Microsoft Access 2013. Richland, WA: Microsoft Press..

Chapter 2, "Creating Databases and Simple Tables" (pp. 53-90)

In this chapter, the authors demonstrate how to create databases both from templates and manually, how to construct a table structure, and how to define the relationship between tables.

Chapter 3, "Create Simple Forms" (pp. 91-114)

The focus of this chapter is creating forms, which enables standardized data to be entered into a database. The authors demonstrate how to create, format and customize the layout of forms.
Chapter 4, "Display Data" (pp. 115-134)

This chapter concentrates on sorting and filtering information within a database in order to locate and display desired information. It begins with simple sorts and progresses through displaying information that matches specific, multiple criteria.

Optional Resources

There are a wide variety of online tutorials available to assist with using Microsoft Access. Below are several you might consider, as needed:

Goodwill Community Foundation, Inc. (2010). Access 2010. Retrieved from http://www.gcflearnfree.org/office

This free resource provides a series of lessons, interactives, and video tutorials to assist in learning how to in the use Access 2010.

Pollock, A. (2010). Access 2010 essential training. Retrieved from http://www.lynda.com/Access-2010-tutorials/essential-training/62642-2.html

This series of videos provides detailed instruction on all aspects of Microsoft Access 2010 use. This resource requires a paid subscription.