Database Reference
In-Depth Information
You could make a case that “Item” helps to describe a sale inasmuch as it identifies what a
customerpurchased.Ontheotherhand,youcouldalsosaythat“Item”isn'tacharacteristic
because it doesn't represent a
singular
aspect of a sale. “Date Sold,” for example, repres-
ents a singular characteristic of a sale. Leaving the quandary surrounding these questions
unresolved, you go on to the next question:
Does “Item” represent a collection of things?
Youcananswerthisquestioneasilybylookingatthepluralformoftheword,whichinthis
case is “Items.” If “Items” can be referred to as a collection, it
is
a subject. It's beginning
to become clear that “Item” does represent a collection of some sort, and you can make a
final determination by asking yourself the last question:
Does “Items” represent something that can be broken down into
smaller pieces?
You can answer this question by determining whether you can identify any characteristics
for“Items.”Ifyoucan,then“Items”definitely representsasubjectandyoushouldmoveit
to the list of subjects. You also need to identify its characteristics and add them to your list
of characteristics.
Continue with this procedure until you've reviewed and refined the entire list of character-
isticstoyoursatisfaction.Whenyouarethrough,youhaveyourfirstversionofthe
Prelim-
inary Field List.
Now you'll add new items to it and refine it further during the next step.
Step 2: Determine Whether There Are New Characteristics in Any of Your Samples
This step involves an examination of all the samples you gathered throughout the analysis
process. Your goal is to determine whether there are characteristics on the samples that
need to be added to the Preliminary Field List.
Begin this step by highlighting every characteristic you find on each sample. Then, exam-
ine each characteristic and determine whether it's already on the Preliminary Field List;
cross it out on the sample if it's already on the list. Next, study the remaining character-
istics and determine whether any of them has the
same meaning
as an existing field; if it
does, cross it out onthe sample. (Use the same procedure youused in the first step to make
this determination.) Finally, add any highlighted characteristics remaining on the samples
to the Preliminary Field List.
For example, say you're working with the data collection sample shown in
Figure 6.14
.
