Merge Passes -- Step by Step

1. Maximum acceptable false positive rate. A table of the best matches will be constructed by ranking all candidate pairs by match probability (ties are ranked randomly) and selecting pairs from the top until the cumulative proportion of false positives reaches the specified limit.

2. Number of imputations for missing links. Specify 5 unless you want to test sensitivity of linkage results.

3. Coefficient of Variation for Total Matches. Specify a value that measures the uncertainty in your Total Matches estimate.

4. Size of random sample of record pairs. Smaller samples run faster and larger samples give better population estimates.

5. Number of MCMC iterations for burn in. Specify 2 unless you want to test sensitivity of linkage results.

6. Seed for random number generator. Specify 1 unless you want to test sensitivity of linkage results.

7. Method for optimizing imputed pairs in sets. Keep the default entry. There is only one method for self matches (Keep All Pairs) and one method for dual matches (Keep Best Pairs).

8. Click on the Merge Passes button.