Ascribing actionable attributes to data that describes a personal identity

摘要

There is provided a method that includes (a) receiving an inquiry to initiate a search for data for a specific individual, (b) determining, based on the inquiry, a strategy and flexible predictiveness equations to search a reference database, (c) searching the reference database, in accordance with the strategy, for a match to the inquiry; and (d) outputting the match. The method may also output flexible feedback related to the match that reflects inferred quality of the match experience which can be used by an end-user to determine the degree to which the matched entity meets that end-user's quality-based criteria. There is also provided a system that performs the method, and a storage medium that contains instructions that control a processor to perform the method.

主权项

1. A method comprising:
(a) receiving an inquiry to initiate a search for data concerning a specific individual; (b) extracting from said inquiry, an attribute that is relevant to a search of a reference database, wherein said inquiry includes an inquiry value for said attribute; (c) obtaining, from a first table, a weight that is indicative of a usefulness of said attribute in finding a match to said inquiry in said reference database; (d) obtaining, from a second table, a number of records in said reference database that have said inquiry value for said attribute; (e) modifying said weight based on said number of records in said reference database that have said inquiry value for said attribute, thus yielding a predictive weight for said attribute, where K=W×F, where K is said predictive weight, W is said weight, and F is said total number of records; (f) setting K1=K, wherein said attribute is a first attribute; (g) repeating operations (b) through (e) for a second attribute through an Nth attribute, thus yielding K2 through KN; (h) establishing a function that characterizes a relationship among said field1 through said fieldN as an indication of a degree of relationship of said field1 through said fieldN to said inquiry, wherein said establishing is performed prior to retrieving candidates for said match from said reference database; (i) searching said reference database for said match, wherein said searching comprises: retrieving from said reference database, based on said function, candidates having attribute values that indicate likely matches to said inquiry; determining a best candidate from said candidates; and returning said best candidate as said match; (j) outputting said match; and (k) outputting an indicator of a level of confidence that said match is an appropriate match to said inquiry.