Comparisons
Comparisons
Side-by-side distinctions between approaches to evidence, records and context, with criteria for when each is useful and how the two combine.
- Blank cell vs declared unknown
A blank leaves its reason unstated; a declared unknown records what was checked and why no value is available.
- Data catalog vs system of record
A catalog tells users what data exists and how to find it; a system of record governs accepted values within a defined scope.
- Data warehouse vs system of record
A warehouse organizes data for analysis; a system of record governs the accepted state used for a defined decision.
- Deterministic vs probabilistic entity resolution
Deterministic rules make explicit match decisions; probabilistic methods estimate match likelihood from observed features.
- Document citation vs sentence citation
A document citation identifies an artifact; a sentence citation locates the specific statement supporting a claim.
- Golden record vs evidence-carrying record
A golden record presents preferred values; an evidence-carrying record keeps the dated source sentence with each value.
- Knowledge graph vs document store
A graph represents entities and relations explicitly; a document store preserves documents as units of content.
- LLM extraction vs rule-based extraction
Language models interpret varied prose; explicit rules suit stable, mechanically defined fields and formats.
- Long context vs retrieval
Long context places more material in one model input; retrieval selects a smaller set of material for each question.
- Majority voting vs truth discovery
A count of agreeing sources is a useful baseline; truth discovery also considers how those sources behave.
- Master data management vs knowledge fusion
MDM governs shared business entities; knowledge fusion reconciles assertions drawn from multiple sources.
- Retrieval-augmented generation vs a system of record
Retrieval supplies context for an answer; a system of record governs which values may be treated as settled.
- Snapshots vs bitemporal history
Snapshots preserve states at selected moments; bitemporal history distinguishes when a fact applied from when it was recorded.
- Vector search vs entity lookup
Vector search finds semantically similar material; entity lookup tests which specific subject a record denotes.
How to read a comparison
Each page sets two approaches side by side along the dimensions that decide between them, states when each is the right choice and describes how they combine. None of them argues that one approach is better in general. The question in every case is which unit of work the approach serves: a question, an entity, a value, a decision or a review.
Most pairs are complementary. Retrieval finds material and a record holds the accepted state; a master identifier names the subject and fusion weighs the claims about it; a snapshot is a view derived from a history. Where a page says to use both, it also says which one is allowed to answer which kind of question.
Elsewhere in the reference
- Glossary of terms used in the comparisons
- Methods: steps, checks and pitfalls
- Directory of identifiers and standards
- Retrieval-augmented generation vs a system of record
- Majority voting vs truth discovery
- Snapshots vs bitemporal history
Background reading
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