making design choices and setting relationships

[spizotfl]

hi, i have a database that will be tracking juveniles who have been "processed" due to truancy, running away, and some other stuff. anyways, i have a table that has information about the kids that are brought in. currently this links to an intake table that has info about the specific event. i also have to track about 25 different risk factors for the kids. currently i have a table for the risk factors that links to the intake table because the risk factors are supposed to be evaluated after each intake. does this make sense?

i am also wondering about the best way to manage the risk factors. for each factor there are 4 options as to who could identify the factor, but more than one of these four could be chosen. from reading around, it sounds as though i should look at making a second table to manage these multiple options. i am just not sure exactly where in the whole scheme i would need to place such a thing. i currently have a big factors table that has a yes/no field for each possible option.

any suggestions are greatly appreciated,
mike

 

[hneal98]

for the 4 options within your facters table, you could create another table for it and put the Facter ID in that table as well as have a unique id for each of the options. Then you can link the two tables by the Facter ID. The options table would be a child table to the Facters table.

As for the firs paragraph of what you wrote, it is hard to tell if it makes sense without knowing the data. I am assuming that the intake table represents when a youth is brought in for something?

 

[spizotfl]

yep, the intake table is for when a youth is brought in.

 

[hneal98]

Well, along with what I suggested, it seems to make sense. Again, it is difficult to say for sure without seing the data.

 

[lespaul]

have you read the link below?


Leslie

Anything worth doing is a lot more difficult than it's worth - Unknown Induhvidual

Essential reading for anyone working with databases: The Fundamentals of Relational Database Design