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This article discusses how duplicate records are identified and merged from the perspective of record data. For information on using the Deduplication Module, read this.
Identifying Duplicates
Every time a record is created or updated, Element451 checks for possible duplicates by looking at several key identifiers.
Duplicate Identifiers
Duplicates can be identified by the following attributes:
first name,
last name,
email and email type,
phone,
SSN,
date of birth
addresses.
An extensive description of the logic behind duplicates can be found here.
Flagging a Possible Duplicate
If Element451 detects records that match on one or more attributes, the duplicates are stored as a relationship to both records, with the probability of matching.
Smart Selection of a Master Record When Merging
When Element451 finds a possible duplicate, it performs a "smart" selection to determine which record should be new "Master" record.
First, Element looks for a recent activity such as:
Logging in
Opening an email
Filling out an Form
Registered for an Event.
Then, Element will prioritizes the record without hard email bounces or unsubscribe milestones.
The Process of Merging
When records are merged, the Element451 keeps the Element ID of the master record. Once the merge is complete, the duplicate record will be deleted. Below is a description of how fields are prioritized and merged:
Single-value Fields
For basic fields such as person data and contact information, only one data point can be kept. If there are conflicting fields, the master record's information will be selected. If the Master field is empty, then the duplicate data will be selected.
Multi-value Fields
Notes, labels, and applications from both student records are merged to the master record by default, unless you specify not to merge them over.
Similarly, for fields such as evaluations, identities, event registrations, and surveys, the default is to merge to the master record. If there is conflicting data, Element selects the master record's data. You can also specify to ignore or keep one when there is conflicting data.
For fields such as education, addresses, milestones, and sources, the fields are merged by default unless you specify another action such as to append, ignore, or keep both.
For all other fields, the system merges everything to the master record by default.
See also:
Learn how to use the Deduplication Module.
Understand the precise logic behind duplication matching and scoring.