This primer is an educational resource that presents the basic principles and practices of data integration in the context of transportation asset management, which includes safety management. Data integration is the method by which agencies combine or link multiple datasets from a variety of sources to assist in solving problems and making informed decisions. In many cases, multiple organizations, agencies, and groups or offices within an agency are responsible for collecting and maintaining crash, roadway, traffic, citation, injury, and other data. These groups must work together to integrate the various datasets to support advanced safety analysis. For example, the safety management approach presented in the Highway Safety Manual incorporates multiple data items such as crash and roadway data to identify locations with potential for safety improvement.

The guide addressed the key aspects of data integration including the data integration team; requirements analysis; data and process flow modeling; alternatives definition, evaluation, and selection; database design and specifications; and development, testing, training, and implementation. The guide also discusses common data integration challenges.