Logical consistency

Logical consistency refers to how well logical relations among data elements are maintained (Aranoff, 1989), or the internal consistency of the data structure.

An example of when inconsistencies can occur is when data sets are overlayed and there are slight discrepancies in position between features on the layers. This difference in position creates sliver polygons (ie a region between two boundaries).

One way of dealing with these inconsistencies is to assign bands of uncertainties to slivers. A boundary that is treated as a band of uncertainty is known as a fuzzy boundary.

Logical consistency can also be known as entity-attribute agreement error. This can occur when correctly typed codes are attached to the wrong entities.

There is no standard measure of logical consistency. The best way to deal with this sort of error is to try to control it at the data capture stage. Factors that particularly need consistency are scale and descriptions.