Fuzzy database queries in official statistics: Perspective of using linguistic terms in query conditions

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Hudec, Miroslav

Affiliations: Faculty of Economic Informatics, University of Economics in Bratislava, Dolnozemska cesta 1, 852 35 Bratislava, Slovakia. E-mail: [email protected]

Abstract: Institutes of official statistics work with mountains of data mainly stored in relational databases. Often, users face the problem of how to express their requirements for data by crisp query conditions, while, for users query can be described more naturally by linguistic terms. Lingustic terms directly included in queries enable more flexible retrieval of relevant data and data dissemination. Fuzzy sets and fuzzy logic have two advantages in this field: provide a better representation of the user requirements for data using linguistic terms and allow examination of records that clearly meet the given criteria, as well as those meeting the given criteria with certain degree. In order to illustrate advantages of fuzzy queries, examples have been realized on real data from official statistics.

Keywords: Fuzzy logic, flexible database queries, data retrieval

DOI: 10.3233/SJI-130775

Journal: Statistical Journal of the IAOS, vol. 29, no. 4, pp. 315-323, 2013