Record Linkage and Public Policy – A Dynamic Evolution

Let me start with the simplest possible definition of record linkage. There is a single record as well as a file of records and all records relate to some entities: persons, businesses, addresses, etc. Record linkage is the operation that, using the identifying information contained in the single record, seeks another record in the file referring to the same entity. If one accepts this definition, it is clear that people have been linking records ever since files existed: the filing clerk, for example, spent his or her entire working day looking for the “right” file to retrieve, or to insert new material in. The “right” file, of course, was the one that corresponded to the identification that was sought, where “identification” could be anything that uniquely described the “right” file. Chapter 1 Record Linkage and Public Policy – A Dynamic Evolution