Research Reports

EDITING DISCRETE DATA

William E. Winkler, U.S. Bureau of the Census

ABSTRACT

This paper describes theory, computational algorithms, and software associated with the DISCRETE edit system. The prototype DISCRETE edit system is based on the Fellegi-Holt model (JASA 1976) of editing. A new implicit-edit generation algorithm replaces an algorithm of Garfinkel, Kunnathur, and Liepins (Operations Research 1986). A characterization specific to the edit situation reduces the amount of information needed in the integer programs used for error localization. Even with moderate-size problems, computation during error localization is reduced by two orders of magnitude.