Insight Database Design & Consulting provides services for clients at any stage of data acquisition. Prospective clients may already have extensive datasets that span many years. Others may be in the initial phases of data collection or be in the planning stages. In all cases, Insight Database Design & Consulting can provide services to streamline development of database software that will provide an efficient and effective solution to your data management needs. These services include database design & implementation in MS Access and SQL Server, modification to existing databases, data normalization and data extraction. Insight Database Design & Consulting also provides services in data analysis including analyses intended for peer-review publication. To the right is a list of services we've provided in the past, others may be available, please contact us if you have questions ...
Rates: Please contact us for details including special rates for non-profit organizations.
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Summary of Services (details below)
Database Design & Implementation Database Redesign & Implementation Data Normalization Data Extraction for Reporting & Analysis - Microsoft Access Query Development - Visual Basic Programming - SQL Development Wildlife & Fisheries Study Design Wildlife & Fisheries Data Analysis Peer-review Publication Professional Writing & Editing Database Platforms & Stats Software (not exhaustive)
Microsoft Access SAS program MARK SQL Server R Programming Languages (not exhaustive) Visual Basic Python |
Details About Our Services
Database Design & Implementation (new databases)
Construction of a new relational Microsoft Access Database has been our most common client request to date. Insight Database Design & Consulting has designed and implemented, including importing of existing data following normalization, well over 25 relational Microsoft Access Databases. A recent database project (Contaminants & Collections Database), designed for faculty from the University of Alaska Anchorage, was developed with SQL Server and a Python user interface. This latest project demonstrates that Insight Database Design & Consulting is progressing with the state-of-the-art in database design and data management. Nonetheless, many of our completed and partially completed database projects are well served by the Microsoft Access platform. When clients contact us for the first time with inquiries about new database construction we will share the pros and cons of SQL Server vs. Microsoft Access prior to any contract negotiations. One of our goals at Insight Database Design & Consulting is to inform prospective clients so that they can make the best decision for their needs. Another goal is to design relational databases that actually inspire users! For our clients that involve capture-mark-recapture databases, inspiration translates into more bird bands read by the users (field biologists in this case), meticulous management of new and existing data, and high quality peer-reviewed publications.
Database Redesign & Implementation
Microsoft Access Databases are a very common method of managing data. Nonetheless, their design was not always implemented by a database professional. Insight Database Design & Consulting has helped many clients redesign their existing Microsoft Access Databases to improve data integrity features, efficiency of table design and relationships, the user-interface experience, and other attributes of a well designed database. Integrity refers to a suite of features that protect data in the database, such as carefully designed table indexes to avoid duplicate records. A carefully designed database should be efficient! To accomplish this (at a minimum) each table in the database and the relationships between tables (this is the source of "relational" in a "relational database") should be carefully planned to avoid redundancy, empty data fields, and other inefficient scenarios. Ultimately, a well crafted, designed or redesigned, relational database ensures that the user experience, managed through a graphical user interface or GUI, is not only efficient but enjoyable for all users.
Data Normalization
By 'normalization' we're referring to the process of cleaning and then partitioning data into a form that can be integrated into a relational database. For example, many data columns populated in an Excel spreadsheet will be used to populate a list in a database ... and that list will be managed in a special table, often referred to as a look-up table. The user will experience this list in the form of a drop-down (combo box) which they'll select from, such as a combo box listing all of the study locations or all lab technicians associated with a project. Some datasets are easier to clean-up and otherwise prepare for insertion into a carefully designed relational database, so this cost may be minimal for many prospective clients. We'll help you sort this out (how much time may be required) before initiating a contract ... contact us if you have any questions.
Data Extraction for Reporting & Analysis
- Microsoft Access Query Development
- Visual Basic Programming
- SQL Development
- Microsoft Access Query Development
- Visual Basic Programming
- SQL Development
The workhorse for extracting datasets from well-designed Microsoft Access Databases is the query, an object-type in the language of Microsoft Access. If you need help developing queries for your existing database then consider getting in touch with Insight Database Design & Consulting. Helping you to develop queries will likely consume very little time relative to other requests. For more complex data extractions, we offer Visual Basic programming for Microsoft Access Databases and SQL (a query language) for databases developed on the SQL Server platform. These extractions require much more experience than those that can be accomplished using a Microsoft Access query. If you're struggling (i.e., wasting many hours) trying to extract a dataset from consider getting in touch with us ... we can help! And it will likely cost you a lot less in the long run.
Wildlife & Fisheries Study Design
Wildlife & Fisheries Data Analysis
Wildlife & Fisheries Data Analysis
Need advice about a study you're planning or an analysis? Our lead developer and owner has a diverse and proven background in biometrics, quantitative ecology, and study design especially in the areas of wildlife and fisheries research. As part of this experience, André has published widely (journals, taxa, topics) in the area of capture-mark-recapture: a collection of quantitative methods used to estimate demographic rates when detection probability of marked individuals in the population is less than 1. This scenario, known as 'imperfect detection', is a common problem in bird banding and animal trapping (grids, etc) studies. Another area that André has considerable experience is analyses involving variance components and related multi-level mixed regression models. His knowledge of basic statistics, study design and related concepts is also well practiced. Consider sending us an inquiry if you think André and Insight Database Design & Consulting might be a good fit to help you develop a design for your study or complete your next data analysis. Keep in mind that we also provide peer-review publication and other professional writing services (more below).
Peer-review Publication
André has published widely (journals, taxa, topics) and his expertise is available at any stage, or capacity, in the peer-review publication process. If you have a question, consider sending those questions to Insight Database Design & Consulting. Your email could spark a contract, a few hours of work, or just a quick answer from Insight. We will help you any way we can!
Professional Writing & Editing
Professional writing is not exclusively part of peer-review (see above). Insight Database Design & Consulting has, for example, provided writing & editing services for text associated with web pages and unpublished reports for non-profit, state and federal agencies. In short, our writing experience is extensive and potentially very valuable for your project. Consider inquiring at any stage of your writing process ... we'd enjoy the correspondence ... and any collaboration if you decide our services would be beneficial.
Didn't find what you were looking for? No worries, if the job involves a database, data analysis or a form of professional writing then Insight Database Design & Consulting has the expertise to provide the services you need ... contact us, let us know what your needs are, and we will get back to you right away.