Detect and resolve duplicate data

To ensure that the quality of your analysis is not compromised by duplicate data, you can search for entities on the charting surface that might represent the same real world object. Analyst's Notebook provides a number of tools to help detect and resolve any duplication without the loss of critical data.

When you attempt to paste or import items into a chart or when you chart items from a data source, Analyst's Notebook automatically compares the identity of items already on the chart with the incoming items. If a match is found, the item is not copied to the chart. An item's label is not necessarily the same as identity, for example you can copy any number of Person entities with the same name to a chart. It is the database identity that is used to automatically detect duplicate data.

Multiple records with different identities often exist for the same entities, and they might contain different details that collectively give a broader view of an entity. The records might also be incomplete, contain errors, or alternative spellings. The difference in identity means that the duplication is not automatically detected, however you can conduct your own analysis to detect and resolve matching items without compromising your investigation.