Working with the Unified Dataset

The unified dataset of a Mastering project represents the logical entity you wish to master, such as customers, products, contacts, or other entities important to your business. The unified attributes of the dataset are the attributes that best describe this entity across all input datasets.

The unified dataset accomplishes three important tasks for mastering. It:

• Defines a single schema, also known as data format, across many, potentially thousands, dissimilar input datasets. This schema is used for processing.
• Powers entity resolution by Tamr machine learning with attribute-specific configurations.
• Allows Curators and Reviewers to provide feedback to record pairs and record clusters that Tamr suggests.

Defining a Single Schema

The unified dataset defines a single schema across all source datasets to be categorized. The unified schema is often thought of as the largest set of attributes common to all input datasets in the project. The task is then to map each common source attribute to this single schema. See Unified Dataset Management.

Dataset Profiling

Profiling a Dataset or individual attributes creates derived metadata about a given dataset. Useful metadata includes counts and histograms of distinct values, and inferred data type. Profiling is an optional step that you can run at any point in the workflow. Profiling attributes can help you understand the data at multiple points in the project.

Configuring Machine Learning

Toggle Inclusion in Machine Learning

To the right of each unified attribute is a diagonal bar that can be de-selected if the user does not wish that attribute to be included in machine learning. The default setting is for this to be on (and thus used in machine learning). This setting indicates to Tamr whether to use the unified attribute for training a model. If it is toggled off, then the attribute will be displayed as a column on the records page, but will not be used by Tamr in its machine learning algorithms.

Choose the Tokenizer and Similarity Function

To compare values in an unified attribute when determining potential record matches, Tamr uses a tokenizer and similarity function. To select a non-default tokenizer and similarity function, select the vertical dots icon to the right of a unified attribute.

For the list of different tokenizers and similarity measers, see the glossary.

Configuring User Preferences

Configure Sorting and Searching Preferences

Select the vertical dot icon to toggle whether the attribute is treated as a numeric value or a string for sorting and searching purposes.

Configure the Cluster Name Unified Attribute

The Supplier setting allows you to aggregate values for the unified attribute by the most common value in the set of records.

To configure the Supplier unified attribute:

1. Select the vertical dots icon.
2. Choose Supplier from the dropdown menu.

Configure the Spend Unified Attribute

The Spend setting allows you to specify a unified attribute of numeric data type to be aggregated per taxonomy node. This makes it possible to navigate the taxonomy and its transactions by Spend.

To configure the Spend unified attribute:

1. Select the vertical dots icon.
2. Choose Spend from the dropdown menu.