The Scottish Record Linkage System.

Howard Newcombe, pioneer and founder of probability matching techniques, has illustrated the continuing dialectic between the theory and the practical craft of linkage. From the point of view of the development of record linkage in Scotland his most valuable contribution, beyond his initial formulation of the principles of probability matching, has been his emphasis on being guided by the characteristics and structure of the data sets in question and close empirical attention to the emergent qualities of each linkage (Newcombe et al. 1959; Newcombe, 1988). Particularly inspiring has been his insistence that probability matching is at heart a simple and intuitive process and should not be turned into a highly specialised procedure isolated from the day to day concerns of the organisation in which it is carried out (Newcombe et al. 1986).