Survey Methods Workshop

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Introduction to Record Linkage

Patricia Whitridge, Chief Methodologist, Elections Canada

Karla Fox, Senior Biostatistician, Deployment Health Section, DND

Sunday, May 28, 2006, 9AM - 5PM

Somerville House room 3315

Record linkage is simply the integration of information from two independent sources. It has become increasingly useful in maintaining electoral information, health care administration, demographic studies, and in medical research. It has enabled administrators and researchers to maintain a database, link to files (i.e. administrative), link to survey data, and/or link to clinical data. Under this framework, records are linked on the basis of common data. Records from the two or more sources that are believed to relate to the same individual are matched in such a way that they may then be treated as a single record for that individual. A match in a deterministic linkage is made when a sufficient number of identifiers agree exactly between two records. In probabilistic record linkage, the comparison or matching algorithm yields for each record pair, a probability or “weight” which indicates the likelihood that record pairs relate to the same entity.

This course will cover the general principles of record linkage, including data preparation, deterministic linkage, probabilistic linkage, and linkage evaluation. Different principles will be illustrated with data from real life examples and there will be a general discussion on record linkage software packages currently available and how to evaluate them for your particular needs.

Registration Fees

(In Canadian dollars)

		By 15 April 2006	After 15 April 2006
SSC Members	regular	150	175
	retired	75	85
	student	50	50
Non-members	regular	180	200
	retired	90	100
	student	60	60

Fees include workshop materials, coffee breaks and lunch.

Non-member fees apply only to those registering for the workshop only. Non-members who register for the conference at non-member rates may add the workshop at member rates.

You may register for the workshop on the registration page.

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