Nov 2022

PyData NYC 2022: Customizable probabilistic record linkage with Name Match

Melissa McNeill

Linking individuals across records or datasets is often a critical prerequisite for building useful data tools and answering interesting research or business questions. But doing it right is difficult and time-consuming, in part because current off-the-shelf tools do not provide a measure of linking accuracy and are too rigid to incorporate the user’s domain knowledge. In this talk, we’ll 1) define high-quality record linkage and discuss why it matters, 2) show how record linkage can be boiled down to a simple prediction problem, and 3) introduce Name Match, a new open source tool for customizable probabilistic record linkage.

Latest Updates

Combining Mentorship and Therapy, Program Aims to Prevent Teen Violence Before It Happens
Media Mention
WTTW
Feb 2025

Combining Mentorship and Therapy, Program Aims to Prevent Teen Violence Before It Happens

Matt Masterson for WTTW News covers the Crime Lab’s study of Choose to Change, a six-month intervention that combines “near-peer” mentorship and cognitive behavioral therapy to help steer teens away from violence and get them back on a more successful track.

In Chicago, cognitive behavioral therapy shows promise curbing youth violence
Media Mention
NPR
Feb 2025

In Chicago, cognitive behavioral therapy shows promise curbing youth violence

NPR’s Meg Anderson reported on Chicago’s Choose to Change (C2C), a program that combines trauma-informed therapy with wraparound supports and aims to reduce youth violence. The Crime Lab found that the program can effectively and sustainably reduce violence involvement and the likelihood of being arrested.

Coming April 21, 2025 – Unforgiving Places: The Unexpected Origins of American Gun Violence
Announcement
UChicago Crime Lab
Apr 2025

Coming April 21, 2025 – Unforgiving Places: The Unexpected Origins of American Gun Violence

Crime Lab Pritzker Director Jens Ludwig authored a book that argues the lack of progress in reducing gun violence ultimately stems from our having misunderstood the nature of the problem, and that behavioral science gives us a new way to understand – and solve – gun violence in America.