| 1. Abstraction Level | Lowest | Middle | Highest |
| 2. Focus | How data is stored | What data is stored | User interaction with data |
| 3. Description | Actual storage details | Structure of the whole database | User-specific information |
| 4. Details | Complex low-level data structures | Hides physical storage structure details | Hides unnecessary details |
| 5. User Awareness | Not aware of complexity | Not aware of complexity | Aware of complexity |
| 6. User Perspective | Unconcerned about database complexity | Unconcerned about database complexity | Aware of database complexity |