Databases

What is a database?

A database is a collection of records or data that has been systematically organized so that its contents are easy to access, manage and update. A database uses fields to relate the data it stores.

For example, in a phone book, data is recorded by last name, first name, city and phone number. A phone book database would therefore look like this:

 The information in the database can then be sorted alphabetically by last name, first name or city. The ID field provides each record with a unique number, which can be useful, for example, when two or more people have the same first and last names. The ID number makes it easy to tell them apart. A database can also be searched using keywords.

Using databases in class:

• helps students understand the usefulness of pooling information. If each student creates one record, the a class of 32 would have access to 32 records on a given topic.
• helps students understand the importance of archiving the information they find in order to be able to find it later. Information that is poorly archived or incomplete is basically lost and therefore useless.

You don’t need specialized software to create a database.

Click here for an example of a database created in Word. You can try adding, sorting or deleting records to get a feel for how to use such a database.

To see the database toolbar in Word, follow these steps...