Reverse-engineering an existing database: When assessing the structure of an acquired set of tables with data, determining foreign keys is (part of) the ________.

Introduction / Context:
Foreign keys connect child tables to parent tables and are essential to understanding the database's business relationships. They should be identified immediately after establishing each table's primary key.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• Step sequence: 1) primary keys, 2) foreign keys, 3) validate RI, 4) functional dependencies.
• Metadata or naming may be inconsistent; data must guide discovery.
• We want an early mapping of relationships to guide later checks.

Concept / Approach:

Once primary keys are known, scan for columns in other tables that match the key's data type and semantics. These candidate foreign keys establish parent-child relationships and inform join paths and cardinalities for subsequent analysis and cleanup.

Step-by-Step Solution:

Verification / Alternative check:

Use counts and distinct checks to see whether each child column's values are subsets of the referenced primary key values before enforcing constraints.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:

First step: requires known parents; third/fourth: delays understanding of relationships needed for validation and normalization.

Common Pitfalls:

Assuming all ID-suffixed columns are foreign keys; overlooking composite keys or mismatched collations/data types.

Final Answer:

second step.