SAS Quality Knowledge Base for Contact Information 26

Standardization Definitions

Standardization definitions specify data and logic that are used to transform a data string to a standard format.

The output of a standardization definition is a standardized representation of the input string. For example, a Name standardization definition might transform a name as follows:

Note that standardization definitions employ intelligent logic to perform context-sensitive transformations. As an example of this, consider the following standardization:

In this example the word JUNIOR is not abbreviated, because the standardization definition's logic determines that JUNIOR is a given name and therefore it should not be transformed. This differs from the first example above, in which JUNIOR is a name suffix, and is therefore abbreviated in the output.

Standardization definitions are useful when preparing data for label printing, mailings, or any other operation in which special formatting is needed.

Standardizing Address Data

Please note that the QKB does not contain postal reference data. Therefore, address-related standardization definitions do not perform validation or correction of addresses based on reference data lookups. This means, for example, that a standardization definition cannot determine whether a postal code value is correct for the city listed for a given address. Similarly, a standardization definition cannot determine whether a street name has been spelled correctly. Instead, standardization definitions work by normalizing address formats and performing pattern-based corrections. While these transformations do not guarantee the validity of an address, the time needed to execute an address standardization definition is typically less than the time needed for an address verification routine, and the contents of standardization definitions can be customized according to user preference. This makes address standardization definitions helpful for users who want to execute quick, customizable cleansing transformations on their address data.

If you want to perform validation or correction of address data using a reference database, you may want to use the Address Verification and/or City, State and Zip Code Verification features from SAS. Address Verification and City, State and Zip Code Verification use reference data provided by postal services to validate and correct address data. For more information about these features, please contact your account representative.