Information TechnologyResearch paperDatabase design

Database normalization: dependencies through to 3NF

The percentages next to each section are the grading scheme in plain sight. Reproduce the numbered outline exactly, and copy the normal form definitions from the text with page numbers — those are marks you cannot lose by knowing the material better.

Aug 15, 2026

Editorial process

Last reviewed · August 15, 2026

Written by

Aaron Bishop

MA, Education

assignment interpretation and research-methods coaching across disciplines

Reviewed by

Dr. Nathan Cole

PhD, Rhetoric & Composition

Argumentation and thesis development

On this page

Interpret the task
Assignment instructions
Deliverables
Proposed outline
Research plan
Reference shortlist
Final review

The section numbers are the grading scheme

Before any database thinking, take the submission instructions literally, because a surprising share of the marks is mechanical. You are told to incorporate the outline including the section numbers, and not to reproduce the questions or the surrounding instructions. You are told to copy the first normal form definition from the text, with quotation marks and a page number. Both are checkable in seconds and both are lost by students who understood the material perfectly and wrote it up their own way. The percentages beside each section tell you how to spend your effort: the design sections carrying ten percent each are worth less individually than the fifteen percent on explaining a functional dependency in plain English, which is a writing task rather than a modelling one. Budget your time against those weights rather than against how interesting each section is, because the design work is absorbing and the two explanation sections together are worth more than any single normal form.

For the content itself, work in the order the outline sets. Assumptions first, stated explicitly, because every later decision depends on them — whether a supplier can supply more than one part, whether a part number is globally unique. A functional dependency is the claim that one attribute determines another: given a value for A there is exactly one value for B, so explain your assigned row as a sentence using the field names rather than the notation. Multiplicity is a separate question about entities, not attributes, and the answer is one-to-many or many-to-many with a reason drawn from the data. Then the normal forms in sequence: first normal form removes repeating groups and gives every cell a single atomic value; second removes partial dependencies on part of a composite key; third removes transitive dependencies, where a non-key attribute determines another non-key attribute. Show the tables at each stage, and say what specific anomaly each step prevents.

Likely learning objectives

Inferred from the brief — check these against your own rubric.

01
Follow a prescribed submission structure exactly, including its numbering.
02
Express a functional dependency in plain English using field names.
03
Distinguish multiplicity between entities from dependency between attributes.
04
Apply first, second and third normal form in sequence and name the anomaly each prevents.

Assignment instructionsQuoted verbatim

Read the full question

Review every instruction before using the planning guidance that follows.

Review the Terms and Concepts Forum, especially the One-to-Many Normalization Process: Parts and Suppliers example. There is also a normalization MP4 file that can be downloaded from the Resources section. Incorporate the following outline in your submission – include the section numbers – not the questions or other content from the instructions. 1) Review the existing report, functional dependencies provided and the sample data (as well as field domains and common knowledge) and document any assumptions you feel are appropriate (beyond those in the key points) and identify initial entities (person, place, thing). (10%) 2 Define functional dependency, and explain one row of the functional dependencies provided above in plain English (use field names). (15%) (you do not need to explain partial or transitive dependency) 3) Based on multiplicity – explain the relationship between the initial Entities in plain English – (either one-to-many, or many-to-many). (15%) 4) Design: specify all tables and fields at each normal form level a) First Normal Forum (1NF) assessment / action – if needed 10% Copy the 1NF definition from the text (include quotes and page number) Assess the UNF table provided and if necessary, make the changes needed to conform to the 1NF definition. Document the resulting 1NF table(s) using relational schema notation or spreadsheet format (see the above example or page 111 Figure 4.2.6 of the text). Explain how each table(s) meets the 1NF definition (use field names) b) Second Normal Form (2NF) assessment / action – if needed 10% Copy the 2NF definition from the text (include quotes and page number) Assess the 1NF table(s) in the previous section and if necessary, make the changes needed to conform to the 2NF definition. Document the resulting 2NF table(s) using relational schema notation or spreadsheet format. Explain how each table meets the 2NF definition (use field names) c) Third Normal Form (3NF) assessment / action if needed 10% Copy the 3NF definition from the text (include quotes and page number) Assess the 2NF table(s) in the previous section and if necessary, make the changes needed to conform to the 3NF definition. Document the resulting 3NF table(s) using relational schema notation or spreadsheet format. Explain how each table meets the 3NF definition (use field names) 5) Use the 3NF tables in your design, to create an new MS Access database, load the sample data provided, Name your database Last Name_TermProject (i.e. Smith_TermProject). (5%). 6) Create a Query, that provides the results for the following request: List each PilotID, FirstName, LastName, the Airline each pilot works for, sorted by pilot. (5%) 7) Create a Form: New Pilot Input (5%) 8) Create a Report: Pilot List – list all pilots, their first and last names, and Salary (5%) Upload the database to the assignment area as one of the deliverables 9) Submission content organization, clarity, spelling and grammar (10%) Contact the instructor with any questions.

Turn the brief into deliverables

01
A submission using the section numbers from the supplied outline.
02
Documented assumptions and identified initial entities.
03
A definition of functional dependency plus one dependency explained in plain English.
04
A stated multiplicity relationship with justification.
05
Tables and fields at 1NF, 2NF and 3NF, each with the definition quoted and page-cited.

Assumptions, dependencies, multiplicity, then each normal form

Assumptions and initial entities

State the assumptions the design rests on and identify the person, place or thing entities.

Functional dependency defined and applied

Define the concept, then explain one supplied dependency in plain English.

Multiplicity between entities

State one-to-many or many-to-many and justify it from the sample data.

First normal form

Quote the definition with a page number, assess the unnormalised table and remove repeating groups.

Second and third normal form

Remove partial and then transitive dependencies, showing the resulting tables.

Where the definitions have to come from

Recommended databases

Your course text — the normal form definitions must be quoted from it
The Terms and Concepts Forum and the normalization video in Resources
IBM and Microsoft technical documentation
ACM Digital Library

Search sequence

1.
Locate the normal form definitions in your text first and note the page numbers, since the citation is a graded requirement.
2.
Work the Parts and Suppliers example in the forum through by hand before touching your own data.
3.
Use a vendor-neutral reference to check your understanding of transitive dependency, which is the step most often applied wrongly.
4.
Confirm what anomaly each normal form prevents, since that is the justification the design sections need.

Reference shortlist

These are authoritative starting points, not a ready-made bibliography. A qualified reviewer must confirm that each source fits the assignment and supports the claim beside which it is cited.

Nothing here is cleared for citation until you have read it.

01
What Is Database Normalization?
IBM · 2024
A vendor-neutral account of the normal forms and the anomalies each removes, useful for checking your own reasoning against the text.
02
Database normalization description
Microsoft Learn · 2024
A worked, step-by-step description of normalising a table, close in form to what this submission has to produce.
03
From glitter to gold: recommendations for effective dashboards from design through sustainment
Implementation Science · 2025
Design guidance on data presentation, relevant to the reporting and layout half of the deliverable.
04
What Is a Neural Network?
IBM · 2024
Background on how normalised data feeds later analytics, useful for justifying the design in the assumptions section.

Review before submission

Common mistakes

Reorganising the submission instead of using the outline's own section numbers.
Paraphrasing the normal form definitions when the instructions say to copy them with a page number.
Explaining a functional dependency in notation rather than in plain English with field names.
Confusing multiplicity between entities with dependency between attributes.
Showing the final 3NF tables only, when the assessment asks for each stage.

Submission checklist

Are the section numbers present and the questions themselves absent?
Is each normal form definition quoted with a page number?
Does the functional dependency explanation use field names and ordinary sentences?
Have you shown tables at 1NF, 2NF and 3NF separately?
Are your assumptions stated before the design that depends on them?

Use this guide to plan and review your own work. Follow your institution's rules and read our academic-integrity policy.