~Information and data~
A computer is an information processing machine. Computers process data to produce information. In this article, we are going to manage what is information and data. We will cover main differences and other details of these.
What is information and data?
Information~
Information is a set of data which is processed in a meaningful way according to the given requirement. Information is processed, structured, or presented in a given context to make it meaningful and useful.
For the decision to be meaningful, the processed data must qualify for the following characteristics −
- Timely − Information should be available when required.
- Accuracy − Information should be accurate.
- Completeness − Information should be complete.
Data~
Data is a raw and unorganized fact that required to be processed to make it meaningful. Data can be simple at the same time unorganized unless it is organized. Generally, data comprises facts, observations, perceptions numbers, characters, symbols, image, etc.
Data processing is the re-structuring or re-ordering of data by people or machine to increase their usefulness and add values for a particular purpose. Data processing consists of the basic steps. These three steps constitute the data processing cycle.
- Input − the input data is prepared in some convenient form for processing.
- Processing − the input data is changed to produce data in a more useful form.
- Output − the result of the proceeding processing step is collected.
Examples:
~ 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.
~ Often data is required to back up a claim or conclusion (information) derived or deduced from it. For example, before a drug is approved by the FDA, the manufacturer must conduct clinical trials and present a lot of data to demonstrate that the drug is safe.
Etymology:
“Information” is an older word that dates back to the 1300s and has Old French and Middle English origins. It has always referred to “the act of informing” usually in regard to education, instruction, or other knowledge communication.
“Data” comes from a singular Latin word, `datum`, which originally meant ‘something given’. Its early usage dates back to the 1600s. Over time ‘data’ has become the plural of datum.
Differences:
Data is always interpreted, by a human or machine, to derive meaning. So, data is meaningless. Data contains numbers, statements, and characters in a raw form.
Information assigns meaning and improves the reliability of the data. It helps to ensure undesirability and reduces uncertainty. So, when the data is transformed into information, it never has any useless details.
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It can be structured, tabular data, graph, data tree, etc. (in data)
Language, ideas, andthoughts based on the given data. (in information)
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Data depends upon the sources for collecting data.
Information depends upon data.
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Data is never designed to the specific need of the user.
Information is always specific to the requirements and expectations because all the irrelevant facts and figures are removed, during the transformation process.
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The data collected by the researcher, may or may not be useful.
Information is useful and valuable as it is readily available to the researcher for use.
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Data generally includes the raw forms of numbers, statements, and characters.
Information doesn’t have to.
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