Book description
This book covers the practical aspects of database design, data cleansing, data analysis, and data protection, among others. The focus is on what you really need to know to create the right database for your small business and to leverage it most effectively to spur growth and revenue.
Databases for Small Business is a practical handbook for entrepreneurs, managers, staff, and professionals in small organizations who are not IT specialists but who recognize the need to ramp up their small organizations’ use of data and to round out their own business expertise and office skills with basic database proficiency.
Anna Manning—a data scientist who has worked on database design and data analysis in a computer science university research lab, her own small business, and a nonprofit—walks you through the progression of steps that will enable you to extract actionable intelligence and maximum value from your business data in terms of marketing, sales, customer relations, decision making, and business strategy.
Dr. Manning illustrates the steps in the book with four running case studies of a small online business, an engineering startup, a small legal firm, and a nonprofit organization.
Table of contents
- Cover
- Title
- Copyright
- Apress_Business
- Dedication
- Contents
- About the Author
- About the Technical Reviewer
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- Chapter 1: How Data Can Benefit Your Small Business
- Chapter 2: A Small Engineering Company: Case Study
- Chapter 3: A Small Law Firm: Case Study
- Chapter 4: A Small Nonprofit: Case Study
- Chapter 5: Aligning Your Database With the Goals of Your Small Business
- Chapter 6: Choosing Between Spreadsheets and Databases
- Chapter 7: Designing Your Small Business Database
-
Chapter 8: Data Protection, Security, and Privacy Policy
-
Data Protection Legislation
- Data Should Be Processed Fairly and Lawfully
- Data Must Be Processed for Specified Lawful Purposes
- Data Must Be Adequate, Relevant, and Not Excessive
- Data Must Be Accurate and Up to Date
- Data Must Not Be Kept for Any Longer Than Is Necessary
- Data Must Be Processed in Accordance with the Rights of Individuals
- Data Must Be Secure
- Principle Eight
- Summary
-
Data Protection Legislation
- Chapter 9: Collecting Your Data
-
Chapter 10: Cleansing Your Data
- Overview
- Why Clean Data Is Important
- Causes of Unclean Data
-
Detecting, Correcting, and Preventing Errors
- Detection and Correction of Typing Errors
- Nonprinting Characters in Text
- Inconsistencies in Text
- Coding Errors
- Missing Values and Outliers
- Identifying the Data Type of Each Column
- Data Integration Errors
- Censoring and Truncation Errors
- Splitting a Row Into Two or More Rows
- Checking for Illogical Errors
- Eliminating Duplicate Rows
- Detecting Broken Links Between Tables
- Database Maintenance
- Summary
- Further Reading
-
Chapter 11: Maintaining Your Database
- Backing Up Your Database
- Compacting Your Database
- Optimizing Your Hard Disk and Storage Devices
- Splitting the Database
- Auditing Users
- Maintaining a Secure List of Passwords
- Using Firewalls, Anti-Virus, and Spyware Protection Software
- Keeping Your Hardware, Operating Systems, and Other Software Up to Date
- Encrypting Your Database
- Maintaining a Clean Database
- Summary
- Chapter 12: Searching Your Database
- Chapter 13: Analyzing Your Data
- Chapter 14: Reporting Your Small Business Data Analysis
- Chapter 15: Acting on Reports
- Chapter 16: Acting on Outside Requests
- Chapter 17: Archiving Your Database
- Chapter 18: Storing Your Database in the Cloud
- Chapter 19: Searching Online Databases
- Chapter 20: Training Your Staff
- Appendix A: Appendix
- Index
- Other Apress Titles You Will Find Useful
Product information
- Title: Databases for Small Business: Essentials of Database Management, Data Analysis,and Staff Training for Entrepreneurs and Professionals
- Author(s):
- Release date: November 2015
- Publisher(s): Apress
- ISBN: 9781484202777
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