A hands-on beginner’s guide to designing relational databases and managing data using Microsoft Access Relational databases represent one of the most enduring and pervasive forms of information technology. Yet most texts covering relational database design assume an extensive, sophisticated computer science background. There are texts on relational database software tools like Microsoft Access that assume less background, but they focus primarily on details of the user interface, with inadequate coverage of the underlying design issues of how to structure databases. Growing out of Professor Jonathan Eckstein’s twenty years’ experience teaching courses on management information systems (MIS) at Rutgers Business School, this book fills this gap in the literature by providing a rigorous introduction to relational databases for readers without prior computer science or programming experience. Relational Database Design for Business, with Microsoft Access helps readers to quickly develop a thorough, practical understanding of relational database design. It takes a step-by-step, real-world approach, using application examples from business and finance every step the way. As a result, readers learn to think concretely about database design and how to address issues that commonly arise when developing and manipulating relational databases. By the time they finish the final chapter, students will have the knowledge and skills needed to build relational databases with dozens of tables. They will also be able to build complete Microsoft Access applications around such databases.  This text: Takes a hands-on approach using numerous real-world examples drawn from the worlds of business, finance, and more Gets readers up and running, fast, with the skills they need to use and develop relational databases with Microsoft Access Moves swiftly from conceptual fundamentals to advanced design techniques Leads readers step-by-step through data management and design, relational database theory, multiple tables and the possible relationships between them, Microsoft Access features such as forms and navigation, formulating queries in SQL, and normalization  Introductory Relational Database Design for Business, with MicrosoftAccess is the definitive guide for undergraduate and graduate students in business, finance, and data analysis without prior experience in database design. While Microsoft Access is its primary “hands-on” learning vehicle, most of the skills in this text are transferrable to other relational database software such as MySQL.  

Table of Contents:
Preface ix 1 Basic Definitions and Concepts 1 Basic Terms and Definitions 1 Types of Information Systems 3 2 Beginning Fundamentals of Relational Databases and MS Access 7 Beginning Fundamentals of MS Access 8 A “Hands‐On” Example 9 Introduction to Forms 15 Another Method to Create Forms 18 Introduction to Reports 22 Introduction to Queries 26 Common Datatypes in MS Access 32 Exercises 34 3 Introduction to Data Management and Database Design 43 Introduction to Data Management 43 General Data Management Issues 43 Classifying Information Systems Tasks: Transaction and Analytical Processing 45 What is Wrong with Just One Table? 46 Repeating Groups 47 An Illustration of Multiple Tables and Foreign Keys 48 4 Basic Relational Database Theory 53 Tables and Their Characteristics 53 Primary Keys and Composite Keys 55 Foreign Keys and Outline Notation 57 Creating Entity‐Relationship (ER) Diagrams 59 Functional Dependency 60 Dependency Diagrams 61 Partial Dependency 62 Transitive Dependency 63 Database Anomalies 63 What Causes Anomalies? 64 How to Fix Anomalies 65 Good Database Design Principles 66 Normalization and Zip Codes 67 Expanding the Customer Loans Database 68 DVD Lending Library Example without Loan History 71 The DVD Lending Library Example with Loan History 75 Subtypes 78 Exercises 85 5 Multiple Tables in Access 95 The Relationships Window and Referential Integrity 95 Nested Table View 100 Nested Forms 101 Queries with Multiple Tables 103 Multiple Joins and Aggregation 108 Personnel: Database Design with Multiple Paths between Tables 115 Creating the Database in Access using Autonumber Keys 119 A Simple Query and a Different Way to Express Joins in SQL 120 Exercises 123 6 More about Forms and Navigation 127 More Capabilities of Forms 127 Packaging it Up – Navigation 132 Exercises 135 7 Many‐to‐Many Relationships 139 Focus Groups Example 139 The Plumbing Store: Many‐to‐Many with an Additional Quantity Field 143 Hands‐ On Exercise and More About Queries and SQL 146 Project Teams: Many‐to‐Many with “Flavors” of Membership 154 The Library 159 Exercises 163 8 Multiple Relationships between the Same Pair of Tables 171 Commuter Airline Example 171 The College 177 Sports League Example 181 Multiple Relationships in Access 183 Exercises 184 9 Normalization 189 First Normal Form 189 Second Normal Form 192 Third Normal Form 194 More Normal Forms 197 Key Factors to Recognize 3NF 198 Example with Multiple Candidate Keys 198 Normalizing an Office Supplies Database 198 Summary of Guidelines for Database Design 202 Exercises 203 10 Basic Structured Query Language (SQL) 215 Using SQL in Access 215 The SELECT … FROM Statement 215 WHERE Conditions 217 Inner Joins 218 Cartesian Joins and a Different Way to Express Inner Joins 221 Aggregation 228 GROUP BY 231 HAVING 237 ORDER BY 238 The Overall Conceptual Structure of Queries 240 Exercises 243 11 Advanced Query Techniques 253 Outer Joins 253 Outer Joins and Aggregation 256 Joining Multiple Records from the Same Table: AS in the FROM Clause 260 Another Use for AS in the FROM Clause 262 An Introduction to Query Chaining and Nesting 262 A More Complicated Example of Query Chaining: The League Standings 265 Subqueries and Back to the Plumbing Store Database 270 Practical Considerations and “Bending the Rules” Against Redundancy 274 Exercises 275 12 Unary Relationships 279 Employee Database 279 Setting Up and Querying a Unary Relationship in Access 283 The Course Catalog Database 291 Exercises 294 Further Reading 301 Index 303