Table relationships - hoping to just enter ID once in form

  • Thread starter Thread starter marc
  • Start date Start date
M

marc

I've created a database with about 15 tables for a participant data in a
research study. Each participant will complete the 15 assessment measures.

My ultimate goal is to create a data entry system whereby a research
assistant can pull up a form and enter an ID number, plus the answers to the
15 assessment measures.

I know I can create a query to combine all the tables, but it seems like the
research assistant would have to enter the id and date 15 times (once for
each table pulled in to the query).

Is there a way to just enter the ID number one time and have it apply to the
relevant tables? thanks so much!
 
Uhmmm? Are you saying that you are using 15 tables to store 15 assessment
measures' data? If so, what happens when you need to store 16 ... or 12?
If that is your design, you are ensuring that there will be a great deal of
busy work/maintenance, because tables and forms and queries and ... will all
need to be updated.

Access is a relational database, and is optimized to work with
well-normalized data. It sounds like your data structure would benefit from
further normalization.

If "normalization" and "relational" are unfamiliar terms, plan on brushing
up before trying to get Access to help. If you treat Access like a big
spreadsheet, you and Access will have to work overtime to overcome the
'sheet data.

Pay now (learn normalization/relational) or pay later (and again and again,
every time something changes)...

Good luck!

Regards

Jeff Boyce
Microsoft Access MVP

--
Disclaimer: This author may have received products and services mentioned
in this post. Mention and/or description of a product or service herein
does not constitute endorsement thereof.

Any code or pseudocode included in this post is offered "as is", with no
guarantee as to suitability.

You can thank the FTC of the USA for making this disclaimer
possible/necessary.
 
Please tell us what the 15 tables represent and what columns are contained in
each table. You should design your database with the thought that someday
there maybe less or more that 15 assessment measures. You also need to ensure
that you do not have any redundant or duplicated data across your many tables.
Time spent in designing your database structure wil pay off many times in
the future.
-- Dorian
"Give someone a fish and they eat for a day; teach someone to fish and they
eat for a lifetime".
 
I've created a database with about 15 tables for a participant data in a
research study. Each participant will complete the 15 assessment measures.

My ultimate goal is to create a data entry system whereby a research
assistant can pull up a form and enter an ID number, plus the answers to the
15 assessment measures.

I know I can create a query to combine all the tables, but it seems like the
research assistant would have to enter the id and date 15 times (once for
each table pulled in to the query).

Is there a way to just enter the ID number one time and have it apply to the
relevant tables? thanks so much!
Click to expand...

You do not need fifteen tables. You need three.

The research assistant need not enter the ID number even ONCE - she never even
needs to *see* it, much less enter it! That's what combo boxes are for.

You will need a table of Participants; a table of AssessmentMeasures
(currently with 15 rows, you may want to add more later); and a table of
Answers, linked one to many to both of these.

For a fully worked out example of this kind of database, see
Duane Hookum's "At Your Survey":
http://www.rogersaccesslibrary.com/Otherdownload.asp?SampleName='At Your Survey 2000'

or Roger Carlson's Training Registration database:
http://www.rogersaccesslibrary.com/download3.asp?SampleName=TrainingRegistration.mdb
 
Back
Top