The Differences Between Data and Information: a Short Analysis
The differences between data and information: a short analysis
What is data?
I have researched on the Internet and in books for the meaning and description of data and there are a variety of meanings and some are very misleading the best two meanings I found were “data consists of random (or a set of random) unprocessed facts with little or no intrinsic value”(S. Yull, T. Stump p-6) and “Data: the raw facts and figures a computer accepts as input and then processes to produce useful information” (P. M. Heathcote, S. Langfield p-16).
Data Is used in every day life by everyone, it is all around us data has to be processed into information to be understood otherwise it has no meaning so without data there is no information data is plural for datum which means 1 piece of data. data comes from the latin word datum, it is both plural and singular. data is made up of raw facts such as text, characters, symbols, numbers, figures, images, sound, video etcetera.
Sources of data
Direct data
“Direct data is completed for a specific purpose and by an automatic process” (S. Yull, T. Stump p-8 - p-9 )direct data is when you collect data for a specific purpose, for example a supermarket reads bar codes on their products for information on a specific product to see where the product is situated, what the product is, how much the product costs etcetera this is a form of direct and specific data it only serves for one purpose. direct data is collected by a automatic process for example in a supermarket they use a bar code reader which is specifically designed to read bar codes. Direct data is also known as primary data
Indirect data
“Indirect data is where data has already been gathered for another purpose” (S. Yull, T. Stump p-8 - p9 ). An example of indirect data is when a supermarket originally reads a bar code on their product for direct data such as how much the product costs but the indirectly collects other data such as how well the product is selling or how much
What is data?
I have researched on the Internet and in books for the meaning and description of data and there are a variety of meanings and some are very misleading the best two meanings I found were “data consists of random (or a set of random) unprocessed facts with little or no intrinsic value”(S. Yull, T. Stump p-6) and “Data: the raw facts and figures a computer accepts as input and then processes to produce useful information” (P. M. Heathcote, S. Langfield p-16).
Data Is used in every day life by everyone, it is all around us data has to be processed into information to be understood otherwise it has no meaning so without data there is no information data is plural for datum which means 1 piece of data. data comes from the latin word datum, it is both plural and singular. data is made up of raw facts such as text, characters, symbols, numbers, figures, images, sound, video etcetera.
Sources of data
Direct data
“Direct data is completed for a specific purpose and by an automatic process” (S. Yull, T. Stump p-8 - p-9 )direct data is when you collect data for a specific purpose, for example a supermarket reads bar codes on their products for information on a specific product to see where the product is situated, what the product is, how much the product costs etcetera this is a form of direct and specific data it only serves for one purpose. direct data is collected by a automatic process for example in a supermarket they use a bar code reader which is specifically designed to read bar codes. Direct data is also known as primary data
Indirect data
“Indirect data is where data has already been gathered for another purpose” (S. Yull, T. Stump p-8 - p9 ). An example of indirect data is when a supermarket originally reads a bar code on their product for direct data such as how much the product costs but the indirectly collects other data such as how well the product is selling or how much
References: AS Level Computing, By P M Heathcote, S. Langfield, Edition: 5, illustrated, Published by Payne Gallway, 2004 AS Level ICT for AQA, By Sharon Yull, Tracey Stump, Edition: illustrated, Published by Heinemann, 2003 Developing Effective Research Proposals, By Keith Punch, Edition: 2, illustrated, Published by SAGE, 2006 A Level ICT for AQA, By Jackie Rogers, Pearson Education, Published by Pearson Education Ltd, 2008