Data Normalization

Normalizing data converts it into a standard or common form. A common use for normalization is to convert nicknames into their standard names, such as converting “Rich” to “Richard” or “Meg” to “Margaret”. Another example is normalizing street address components. For example, both “Dr.” or “Drv” in a street address might be normalized to “Drive”. Normalized values are obtained from lookup tables. Once a field value is normalized, that value can be more accurately compared against values in other records to determine whether they are a match.