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NWR: Anybody out there know about making databases?

Hey guys, I figure this is a shot in the dark, but there might be some computer-y people out there.

I need to make a database for my dissertation stuff. I have close to 3000 records relating to Civil War monuments that I got from an online database with really terrible coding, that just doesn't do what I need it to do (and also contains every other outdoor monument in the United States, so too much information). I need to be able to input all these records and then search them by any field - date, location, artist/fabricator, content of inscription, etc. I'm relatively computer literate, but I'm more of a humanties person than a computer/math program, so when the acronyms start flying, I get confused very quickly.

I've talked to two people who have some experience with databases, one of whom recommended learning Access, and the other learning SQL. I'm not sure how hard it is to do either of those, but I'd like to make a decision and act on it, possibly by the end of the week, because I've been sitting on this obstacle for too long and I need to do something about it.

Any advice?
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Re: NWR: Anybody out there know about making databases?

  • Personally, I cannot stand Access so I can't help you there. I would much rather use Excel and create my own Access-type information. You can easily filter columns in Excel to certain information and create formulas to give you all kinds of information. Step by step instructions are even in the help portion of Excel.

    With that being said, I would really need to see the data to truly be able to decide if Excel would work for you or not. Are you familiar with Excel at all? If you are, I think it would be worth playing with it for a little.
  • CellesCelles member
    2500 Comments Combo Breaker
    edited April 2011
    SQL is the programming language used to code databases, while Access is database software that applies a graphical user interface to what is ultimately just more SQL programming.  As such, Access is infinitely more user friendly -- especially if you're new to databasing.  It also sounds like it would be sufficient for your needs.  Access all the way!

    Sarah, I'm really handy with Access so feel free to PM me if I can help you with any specifics.  :) 
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  • I've used both access and SQL...Access is a much more user-friendly/beginner-friendly interface in my opinion.  SQL requires a bit more knowledge of queries, etc.  I'd suggest finding a user's guide for Access and you should be on your way.  You can try this link to get you started: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/access-help/guide-to-the-access-2007-user-interface-HA010039892.aspx  (I don't know what version of office you are running...but this should at least give you a starting point)
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  • I used to use TrackVia at my old job, but that was a address/phone/e-mail database and I admittedly don't know what all it could do. But our marketing director LOVED it.
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  • In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_nwr-anybody-out-there-making-databases?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:9Discussion:2dc470ef-ab51-4c8a-b5c3-1387cfc94894Post:cfd10fc1-83f6-464f-9bfd-68fc75977616">Re: NWR: Anybody out there know about making databases?</a>:
    [QUOTE]Personally, I cannot stand Access so I can't help you there. I would much rather use Excel and create my own Access-type information. You can easily filter columns in Excel to certain information and create formulas to give you all kinds of information. Step by step instructions are even in the help portion of Excel. With that being said, I would really need to see the data to truly be able to decide if Excel would work for you or not. Are you familiar with Excel at all? If you are, I think it would be worth playing with it for a little.
    Posted by midgetthemighty[/QUOTE]


    Noooooooooo.

    Sorry, but no. People who use spreadsheet software to mimic database operations are one of my biggest pet peeves at work. A database is so much more efficient! For one thing, it eliminates all of the redundancies you'll find in a spreadsheet, by storing relational data in a series of interconnected tables. Instead of updating a specific piece of information in every single data row in which it appears, you update it once -- in its "home" table -- and all other tables update accordingly. Andplusalso, queries and reports are just so much more powerful than manually adjusting spreadsheet filters. Don't get me wrong; Excel has its uses. I use it more for day to day stuff than Access. But to store and manipulate and present mass amounts of data? Access (or another database program, if you prefer) all. the. way. 

    ... Um, yeah. I'm a bit of a nerd. I work in accounting but at my last job I was my department's <em>de facto</em> DBA, simply because we didn't have the budget for a real one and everyone else was apparently afraid of databases, lol.
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  • I'm an archivist and I use a database for all my box and folder lists so that they are searchable. What we have is a modified version of Access created specifically for archives and it's very easy to use. That said, I wouldn't know how to go about creating one. Ours was made by a company that does this kind of stuff, but I'm sure that isn't in your funds. At previous jobs I've just used Excel for inventories and I'm sure that could work for what you need as well.
  • Would I need to get the same version of Access as the version of Office I'm currently running? I have Office 2007, but if I'm buying new software, I think I'd get the latest version of Access if I could.

    Midget, I'm a little wary about Excel just because of the sheer volume of records and the amount of information involved with each. I made a data sheet with similar information in Excel for my master's thesis, but that was only maybe 150 records. I feel like this might be more complicated.

    Also, am I going to run into a lot of Microsoft fiddly-ness with Access? I know that sometimes when I'm working with Word the formatting gets all weird and I'm not even sure what I did to cause it.
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  • In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_nwr-anybody-out-there-making-databases?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:9Discussion:2dc470ef-ab51-4c8a-b5c3-1387cfc94894Post:f500593b-f6e6-4a7e-8da9-5fb0f95d9bc6">Re: NWR: Anybody out there know about making databases?</a>:
    [QUOTE]That said, I wouldn't know how to go about creating one. Ours was made by a company that does this kind of stuff, but I'm sure that isn't in your funds. Posted by annakb8[/QUOTE]

    I would offer to do it for you! For fun. I don't get to play with databases as much now that I work for an actual tech company and I miss it. :)

    But I totally get wanting to learn to do it yourself, too. It's a great skill to have.
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  • In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_nwr-anybody-out-there-making-databases?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:9Discussion:2dc470ef-ab51-4c8a-b5c3-1387cfc94894Post:22dc7834-8217-499c-b1d4-00395b04c726">Re: NWR: Anybody out there know about making databases?</a>:
    [QUOTE]In Response to Re: NWR: Anybody out there know about making databases? : Noooooooooo. Sorry, but no. People who use spreadsheet software to mimic database operations are one of my biggest pet peeves at work. A database is so much more efficient! For one thing, it eliminates all of the redundancies you'll find in a spreadsheet, by storing relational data in a series of interconnected tables. Instead of updating a specific piece of information in every single data row in which it appears, you update it once -- in its "home" table -- and all other tables update accordingly. Andplusalso, queries and reports are just so much more powerful than manually adjusting spreadsheet filters. Don't get me wrong; Excel has its uses. I use it more for day to day stuff than Access. But to store and manipulate and present mass amounts of data? Access (or another database program, if you prefer) all. the. way.  ... Um, yeah. I'm a bit of a nerd. I work in accounting but at my last job I was my department's de facto DBA, simply because we didn't have the budget for a real one and everyone else was apparently afraid of databases, lol.
    Posted by Celles[/QUOTE]

    Eye-to-eye here Celles :)

    I think Access would be your best bet as well.  You should be fine getting a different version of Access than the rest of your Office suite.


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  • In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_nwr-anybody-out-there-making-databases?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:9Discussion:2dc470ef-ab51-4c8a-b5c3-1387cfc94894Post:22dc7834-8217-499c-b1d4-00395b04c726">Re: NWR: Anybody out there know about making databases?</a>:
    [QUOTE]In Response to Re: NWR: Anybody out there know about making databases? : Noooooooooo. Sorry, but no. People who use spreadsheet software to mimic database operations are one of my biggest pet peeves at work. A database is so much more efficient! For one thing, it eliminates all of the redundancies you'll find in a spreadsheet, by storing relational data in a series of interconnected tables. Instead of updating a specific piece of information in every single data row in which it appears, you update it once -- in its "home" table -- and all other tables update accordingly. Andplusalso, queries and reports are just so much more powerful than manually adjusting spreadsheet filters. Don't get me wrong; Excel has its uses. I use it more for day to day stuff than Access. But to store and manipulate and present mass amounts of data? Access (or another database program, if you prefer) all. the. way.  ... Um, yeah. I'm a bit of a nerd. I work in accounting but at my last job I was my department's de facto DBA, simply because we didn't have the budget for a real one and everyone else was apparently afraid of databases, lol.
    Posted by Celles[/QUOTE]

    I totally get it. I've worked with Access too, but... she only has 3000 entries. Which isn't so much of a PITA that she would have to lug through all the data rows to change things out. My H is a statistician and works with huge data tables (250k entries+), but for anything that can fit on an excel sheet, well, it's not awful to have to use excel.
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  • edited April 2011
    In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_nwr-anybody-out-there-making-databases?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:9Discussion:2dc470ef-ab51-4c8a-b5c3-1387cfc94894Post:22dc7834-8217-499c-b1d4-00395b04c726">Re: NWR: Anybody out there know about making databases?</a>:
    [QUOTE]In Response to Re: NWR: Anybody out there know about making databases? : Noooooooooo. Sorry, but no. People who use spreadsheet software to mimic database operations are one of my biggest pet peeves at work. A database is so much more efficient! For one thing, it eliminates all of the redundancies you'll find in a spreadsheet, by storing relational data in a series of interconnected tables. Instead of updating a specific piece of information in every single data row in which it appears, you update it once -- in its "home" table -- and all other tables update accordingly. Andplusalso, queries and reports are just so much more powerful than manually adjusting spreadsheet filters. Don't get me wrong; Excel has its uses. I use it more for day to day stuff than Access. But to store and manipulate and present mass amounts of data? Access (or another database program, if you prefer) all. the. way.  ... Um, yeah. I'm a bit of a nerd. I work in accounting but at my last job I was my department's de facto DBA, simply because we didn't have the budget for a real one and everyone else was apparently afraid of databases, lol.
    Posted by Celles[/QUOTE]

    On the queries and reports thing (sorry if this is a dense question).... so, if I wanted a report on say, the number of monuments in Wisconsin, Minnesota and Michigan that had used the phrase "preserving the Union" between 1865 and 1875, could I make a query that specific? And could Access make a report about that? That's the kind of thing I want this to be able to do.
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  • Also, am I going to run into a lot of Microsoft fiddly-ness with Access? I know that sometimes when I'm working with Word the formatting gets all weird and I'm not even sure what I did to cause it.

    I'm not sure about the version -- I use Access 2007 and love it! -- but I don't think the above will be an issue unless you start making forms.  Access is very data driven, so there isn't any real visual formatting to mess with...  if that makes sense. You have to define the format of each field in your tables (text, number, date/time, memo, etc.), but it's more of a data thing rather than an appearance thing.

    I hate Word. It always seems to think it knows what you want better than you do. So obnoxious.

    If you don't already own a license to Access, you could look at Base, which is part of the Open Office suite. I don't think it's quite as user friendly, but it is Open Source and therefore not evil.  And also, free. 
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  • In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_nwr-anybody-out-there-making-databases?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:9Discussion:2dc470ef-ab51-4c8a-b5c3-1387cfc94894Post:99ed72a8-9f1e-4c94-a840-91549620bb4c">Re: NWR: Anybody out there know about making databases?</a>:
    [QUOTE]In Response to Re: NWR: Anybody out there know about making databases? : On the queries and reports thing (sorry if this is a dense question).... so, if I wanted a report on say, the number of monuments in Wisconsin, Minnesota and Michagan that had used the phrase "preserving the Union" between 1865 and 1875, could I make a query that specific? And could Access make a report about that? That's the kind of thing I want this to be able to do.
    Posted by sarah0725[/QUOTE]

    Not dense at all!  And yes, as long as that information is stored the in data tables, an Access query can extract it, sort it, and sum or count it.  :)
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  • In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_nwr-anybody-out-there-making-databases?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:9Discussion:2dc470ef-ab51-4c8a-b5c3-1387cfc94894Post:b840fb05-bab5-430c-bf0d-4b1914260135">Re: NWR: Anybody out there know about making databases?</a>:
    [QUOTE]In Response to Re: NWR: Anybody out there know about making databases? : Not dense at all!  And yes, as long as that information is stored the in data tables, an Access query can extract it, sort it, and sum or count it.  :)
    Posted by Celles[/QUOTE]

    Awesome. I think I am sold. Now I just need to go buy and learn Access. :)
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  • I love Excel, but for a database function I'd definitely use Access. For 3000 records Excel can get bogged down and do that weird formatting crap. It happens to me all the time in large spreadsheets that I can't really use a database for. 

    If I were you I'd take up Celles on the offer to design it for free..
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  • I'd go with Access. It is pretty user friendly and for what you're doing you need an actual database. Fake databases in Excel are ok when you just need a table of information and ability to sort columns, but not so much when you need to retrieve an individual record.
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  • SarahP!  Total non sequitur, but I don't think I've told you yet that I love your baby's name.  Except everytime I see your sig, I have to fight the impulse to close the window so Jef (who isn't even here yet, lol) doesn't see it.  He's been lobbying for "Tiberius" for a middle name for our hypothetical future spawn ever since I mentioned that "James" is one of my favorite boy's names. Surprised
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  • In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_nwr-anybody-out-there-making-databases?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:9Discussion:2dc470ef-ab51-4c8a-b5c3-1387cfc94894Post:ee569f9d-9723-425b-8c2c-3042965a35c2">Re: NWR: Anybody out there know about making databases?</a>:
    [QUOTE]SarahP!  Total non sequitur, but I don't think I've told you yet that I love your baby's name.  Except everytime I see your sig, I have to fight the impulse to close the window so Jef (who isn't even here yet, lol) doesn't see it.  He's been lobbying for "Tiberius" for a middle name for our hypothetical future spawn ever since I mentioned that "James" is one of my favorite boy's names.
    Posted by Celles[/QUOTE]
    Thank you! We know way too many James, or it would have been a contender for us as well. DH is more of a Babylon 5 fan, though, so I don't think it would have made the final cut. And we just decided on Alexander this weekend. I googled his name and only came up with 3 people, so I figure its a good solid, uncommon combination. 
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