Canadian Health Information Management Association Practice Exam

Which level in the data model describes how the data is stored within the database?

1. Conceptual data model

2. Data manipulation language

3. Logical data model

4. Physical data model

The correct answer is: Physical data model

The physical data model defines how data is stored in a database. It specifies the actual files, indexes, and storage specifications that are used to persist data. This level of the data model focuses on the implementation details, such as data structures, access methods, and the overall architecture in which hardware interacts with software to store and retrieve data. Understanding the physical data model is crucial for optimizing performance, ensuring data integrity, and managing access to data efficiently. It translates the higher-level abstractions that are captured in conceptual and logical data models into concrete algorithms and datatypes that the database system can utilize. In contrast, the conceptual and logical data models focus on the organization of data at a higher abstraction level without detailing how data is physically stored, which distinguishes the physical model's emphasis on implementation. The data manipulation language, on the other hand, pertains to how data can be queried and modified but does not describe how it is stored.