Looking for help building Access Historical Research database

[Trooper]

I want to build a database to store info on Criminals of an historic nature (1850-1900). I am pretty sure I'm not smart enough to do it alone. I want to build it myself with assistance from an experienced programmer. I will pay for assistance if you are able to help. I have set up many initial tables for the database but am having trouble with proper approach to the data and relationships. This is a very ambitious database and would benefit me and my research partners immensely if I can find someone to help me build it.
The database is intended to be similar to the FBI's NCIC only from an historical aspect. So it will include records of arrest, imprisonment, family data, investigation details etc. I will send full details and my database samples by e-mail if you can help. Please reply here or to DStadtfeld@msn.com

Thank you,
Trooper

[ItsMe]

Perhaps hiring someone to create an entity relationship diagram and the RDBMS side of the Access file would be a good approach. Then, you could pay the same consultant to do the programming with you.

As the application side gets developed, you will need additional tables and queries. Watching an experienced developer add new tables and queries would help you to understand the ERD process and the basic rules of normalization.

[orange]

Getting your tables and relationships designed to support your "business facts" is key to database.
There is a tutorial here that will help you with the concepts and processes involved. But you have to work through the tutorial. It does include a solution. You will learn, but you must work through it.
Good luck.

[alansidman]

Here is a link also, the will help you to understand the fundamentals of RDBMS design.

http://sbuweb.tcu.edu/bjones/20263/A...sDB_Design.pdf

[Trooper]

Thank you for the link. I will work through it for sure. I suppose the relationships are my biggest stumbling block as I already have many tables built, but even in the tables I have some trouble with what I can include. Example, much of the data in my database includes location data and rather than have myriad fields for City, County, State, I opted to create individual tables for state, county, and cities to centralize and link the data. That way in each table I would reference the stateID etc, but one of my tables included multiple locations like born "here", died "here" and I can't have 2 fields with identical names so I was stuck. This must all seem so basic to the folks here. I better get studying. Thanks again.

[Trooper]

Thank you Alansidman. I will work through this too. It is apparent I need all the help I can get.