Patent ID: 8332366

Claim:
A computer-implemented method of automatically generating weights for associating a plurality of data records from one or more data sources at one or more physical locations, comprising: at one or more computer systems or devices coupled to the one or more databases at the one or more physical locations; generating unmatched probabilities for a set of candidate data records, wherein the unmatched probabilities are computed per attribute for each pair of data records in the set of candidate data records; determining default discrepancy probabilities per attribute for each pair of data records in the set of candidate data records based upon a data quality parameter; calculating initial weights per attribute based upon the unmatched probabilities and the default discrepancy probabilities; and iterating a process comprising the steps of: comparing each pair of data records in the set of candidate data records using the initial weights per attribute; determining a candidate matched set with results from the comparing step; generating true discrepancy probabilities with scoring information from the candidate matched set; calculating new weights per attribute based upon the unmatched probabilities and the true discrepancy probabilities to adjust performance of the association of data records; and testing for weight convergence and using the new weights if a difference between the current weights and the new weights is larger than a predetermined amount.