title: Probabilistic record linkage.
abstract: Studies involving the use of probabilistic record linkage are becoming increasingly common. However, the methods underpinning probabilistic record linkage are not widely taught or understood, and therefore these studies can appear to be a 'black box' research tool. In this article, we aim to describe the process of probabilistic record linkage through a simple exemplar. We first introduce the concept of deterministic linkage and contrast this with probabilistic linkage. We illustrate each step of the process using a simple exemplar and describe the data structure required to perform a probabilistic linkage. We describe the process of calculating and interpreting matched weights and how to convert matched weights into posterior probabilities of a match using Bayes theorem. We conclude this article with a brief discussion of some of the computational demands of record linkage, how you might assess the quality of your linkage algorithm, and how epidemiologists can maximize the value of their record-linked research using robust record linkage methods.
authors.affiliation: School of Clinical Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK, School of Social and Community Medicine, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK and adrian.sayers@bristol.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Adrian
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sayers
authors.affiliation: School of Social and Community Medicine, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK and.
authors.forename: Yoav
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ben-Shlomo
authors.affiliation: School of Clinical Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK.
authors.forename: Ashley W
authors.initials: AW
authors.lastname: Blom
authors.affiliation: Department of Statistics, London School of Economics and Political Science, London, UK.
authors.forename: Fiona
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Steele
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D001499:Bayes Theorem; D006801:Humans; D008498:Medical Record Linkage / Q000379:methods*; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D009626:Terminology as Topic
keywords: Record linkage; bias; data linkage; epidemiological methods; medical record linkage