Entity Resolution: Things You Absolutely Need to Know

Entity resolution is a complex process, but it is also a vital one. If you are running a business, then you need to be sure that your data is properly resolved. In this blog post, we will discuss the basics of entity resolution and teach you everything that you need to know in order to get started. 

What is entity resolution?

Entity resolution is the process of identifying and disambiguating entities within a dataset. An entity can be anything that can be uniquely identified, such as a person, place or thing. When you are resolving entities, you are essentially trying to match up all of the different instances of an entity so that you can have a complete picture of it.

Why is entity resolution important?

Entity resolution is important for a number of reasons. First and foremost, it helps to ensure the accuracy of your data. If you have multiple records for the same entity, then you need to be able to resolve them so that you know which one is correct. 

In addition, entity resolution can help improve the performance of your systems. For example, if you are running a search engine, then you will want to resolve entities so that you can provide more relevant results.

What are some of the challenges with entity resolution?

Entity resolution, as implied earlier, isn’t exactly a simple task. There are a number of challenges that you may face when trying to resolve entities. First, you need to have good data. If your data is inaccurate or incomplete to begin with, then it will be very difficult to resolve entities correctly. 

Additionally, you need to have robust matching algorithms in place. Entity resolution often relies on probabilistic methods, so it is important to have a good understanding of statistics and machine learning in order to achieve accurate results. 

Things to remember when getting started

If you want to get started with entity resolution, then there are a few things that you need to do. First and foremost, you need to gather good data. This data will be used to train your matching algorithms and resolve entities. 

You also need to choose appropriate matching algorithms. There are a number of different options available, so it is important to select the ones that are best suited for your data and your use case. Lastly, you need to have access to powerful computing resources in order to run your entity resolution process efficiently.

Who handles entity resolution?

There is no one-size-fits-all answer to this question. In some cases, entity resolution is handled by a dedicated team of experts. In other cases, it is handled by the developers who are building the applications that need to use the data.

The role of technology in entity resolution

Technology is playing an increasingly important role in entity resolution. As data sets continue to grow in size and complexity, it is becoming more and more difficult to resolve entities without the help of computers. 

Moreover, the use of probabilistic methods means that entity resolution often requires significant processing power. For these reasons, it is essential to have access to powerful computing resources when performing entity resolution.