Identification (information)

Identification when dealing with information (specifically data stored in databases) is the capability to find, retrieve, report, change, or delete specific data without ambiguity.

In database normalization it is the central, defining, function to the discipline.

=Example=

To retrieve the data stored about you with the Internal Revenue System of the USA, you need to supply them with your social security number (SSN). The SSN, then, identifies a unique you to the IRS. No other (living) person has your SSN, and you (as an individual) are assumed to not have more than one SSN. Other data that your SSN identifies with the IRS would be such things as your name, your birthdate, and your current employer.