Data and Information

What Is Data?

A collection of individual facts or statistics is referred to as data. Data is a raw and unorganized so they must be processed to make it meaningful. The term data can refer to either a single fact or a collection of facts. It is derived from the Latin word datum, which means "something given.

• Individual prices
•  weights
•  addresses
•  ages
• names
•  temperatures
•  dates
• distances 

are examples of data and data can come in the form of Text, observations, figures, images, numbers, graphs, or symbols. 

Data is a raw form of knowledge that has no meaning or purpose on its own. In other words, data must be interpreted in order to have meaning. Data can be simple—even ineffective—until it is analyzed, organized, and interpreted. 

Now let's see the characteristics of data.

• Data usually Available as row materials.
• Reliability of data is low.
• Data may Incomplete or informal and data is Not suitable for decision making

Now we are going talk about types of data There are two main types of data:

Quantitative data and Qualitative data 

Quantitative data is provided in numerical form, like the weight, volume, or cost of an item. For example, we can take Revenue in dollars. Weight in grams. Age in years. Length in centimeters. Distance in kilometers. Height in feet or inches. All of these are Quantitative data because they are provided in numerical form. 

Other data type is Qualitative data is descriptive, but non-numerical, like the name, sex, or eye color of a person. Things like Color Shape Smell Taste can put inside qualitative data. 

For example, 

• we can take the hair colors of players on a Cricket team,
• the color of cars in a parking lot

 If a particular number is not assigned to the data, we can say that is a qualitative data

 So, as we discuss Data is an individual unit that contains raw materials which do not carry any specific meaning or purpose on its own. In other words, data must be interpreted in order to have meaning. We talked about data

now it's time to know what is information What Is Information? 

Knowledge gained through study, communication, research, or instruction is referred to as information. In essence, information is the result of analyzing and interpreting data. Whereas data refers to individual figures, numbers, or graphs, information refers to how those pieces of knowledge are perceived. 

For example, a set of data could include temperature readings from a specific location over the course of several years. Those temperatures have no meaning without any additional context. However, by analyzing and organizing that data, you may be able to determine seasonal temperature patterns or even broader climate trends. Only when data is organized and compiled in a useful manner can it provide useful information to others. 

Information also has some characteristics.

• Subjectivity: The value and usefulness of information are highly subjective, because what is information for one person may not be for another.
• Relevance: Information is good only if it is relevant - that is, pertinent and meaningful to the decision maker.
• Timeliness: Information must be delivered at the right time and the right place to the right person.
• Accuracy: Information must be free of errors, because erroneous information can result in poor decisions and erode the confidence of users. 
• Correct information format: Information must be in the right format to be useful to the decision maker. Completeness: Information is said to be complete if the decision maker can satisfactorily solve the problem at hand using that information. 
• Accessibility: Information is useless if it is not readily accessible to decision makers, in the desired format, when it is needed. 

So, as we discuss Information is a set of data which is processed in a meaningful way according to the given requirement.

let's understand the differences between data and information 

DATA	INFORMATION
unorganized	organized
Data points are individual and sometimes unrelated.	Information maps out that data to provide a big-picture view of how it all fits together.
Data is an individual unit that contains raw materials which do not carry any specific meaning.	Information is a group of data that collectively carries a logical meaning.
doesn’t depend on information.	depends on data.
data alone is insufficient for decision making	sufficient for decision making

Data is a collection of facts, while information puts those facts into context.

Data typically comes in the form of graphs, numbers, figures, or statistics. Information is typically presented through words, language, thoughts, and ideas.

In the world of computers, data is the input and Information is the output, or how the computer interprets your data and shows you the requested action or directive. 

For better understanding let's see some examples.

So here are some examples for data and information.

 

DATA	INFORMATION
Each student's test score is one piece of data.	The average score of a class or of the entire school is information that can be derived from the given data.
Each individual test grade of a student in one class	The student’s average grade for each class
0115156565	person’s phone number 0115156565
100, 212, 0, 32	The freezing and boiling points of water in Fahrenheit and Celsius

you can see this 10-digit number which does not give you any idea, so that's a data. if we say that number is my mobile number then we can take that as an information.

here also have set of numbers, which has no meaning, so it's a data if we tell these numbers are the boiling points of water in Fahrenheit and Celsius, it's an information 

The history of temperature readings all over the world for the past 100 years is data. If this data is organized and analyzed to find that global temperature is rising, then that is information. 

The number of visitors to a website by country is an example of data. Finding out that traffic from the U.S. is increasing while that from Australia is decreasing is meaningful information.

Data and information are both necessary for decision-making. Data is raw facts or statistics that may be meaningless on their own. However, information is data that has been processed and structured. Information is simple to understand and provides context for data. This is the primary distinction between data and information. Furthermore, information is always dependent on data.

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