A Toolbox for Record Linkage

Abstract

We developed a record-linkage toolbox in order to compare the performance of various string-similarity measures for German surnames. This ”Matching Tool-Box” (MTB) is made up by independent, highly portable JAVA-programs. MTB is currently used for prototyping pre-processing tools and the empirical comparison of string-similarity measures. Furthermore, MTB has been used successfully in sociological, economical and epidemiological research projects.