Data modeling reduces redundancy. What outcome does this promote?

• A. Increased data duplication
• B. Reduced duplicate data
• C. Slower query performance
• D. More complex schemas

Answer: (B)

When data modeling minimizes redundancy, the result is less duplicate data across the database. By organizing information into related tables and using keys to reference related facts, you store a piece of information in one place instead of repeating it in every row. This reduces the risk of inconsistencies and makes updates, deletions, and inserts safer and easier to manage. For example, customer details are stored once in a customers table and referenced by orders, rather than duplicating the same name and address in every order record. While normalization can sometimes make the schema look more complex and may require joins for queries, the core benefit is that the data remains consistent with far less duplicated information.