Patent ID: 8495077

Claim:
A computer implemented method of linking a first record in a database to a second record in the database upon a determination that the first record and the second record correspond to a same individual, wherein each record comprises at least one field and each of the at least one field comprises a field value or a null value, the method comprising: calculating a plurality of match probabilities using an iterative process, each of the plurality of match probabilities corresponding to a different field common to the first record and the second record, the plurality of match probabilities comprising one or more of a field probability and a field value probability, wherein the field probability represents a probability that two randomly chosen records share a common field value in an associated field, and wherein the field value probability represents a probability that a record chosen at random contains an associated field value; selecting a matching formula from the group consisting of a field weight matching formula, a field value weight matching formula, and a supplemental weight matching formula, wherein each of the matching formulas are derived, at least in part, from one or more match probabilities; calculating a match score based on a plurality of terms using the selected matching formula, each of the plurality of terms corresponding to a different field common to the first record and the second record, each of the plurality of terms comprising: (1) a probability that a field value in a corresponding field of the first record matches a field value in a corresponding field in the second record, and (2) a weight derived from a match probability, wherein the match probability comprises a probability that an arbitrary entity representation in the database comprises a particular field value; determining, based on the match score and a size of a population associated with the database, whether there is a sufficiently high confidence level that the first record and the second record correspond to the same individual; and linking, in the database, the first record with the second record based on the determining.