Databases

01 - Data vs Information

1. Difference between Data and Information

(From: http://www.differencebetween.info/difference-between-data-and-information)

Key difference: Data and information are processed in any manner. Once the data
interrelated. Data usually refers to raw is analyzed, it is considered as information.
data, or unprocessed data. It is the basic Information is "knowledge communicated
form of data, data that hasn’t been or received concerning a particular fact or
analyzed or processed in any manner. circumstance." Information is a sequence
Once the data is analyzed, it is considered of symbols that can be interpreted as a
as information. Information is "knowledge message. It provides knowledge or insight
communicated or received concerning a about a certain matter. Information can
particular fact or circumstance." be recorded as signs, or transmitted as
Information is a sequence of symbols that signals.
can be interpreted as a message. It
provides knowledge or insight about a Basically, information is the message that
certain matter. is being conveyed, whereas data are plain
facts. Once the data is processed,
organized, structured or presented in a
given context, it can become useful. Then
data will become information, knowledge.
Data in itself is fairly useless, until it is
interpreted or processed to get meaning,
to get information. In computing, it can
be said that data is the computer's
language. It is the output that the
computer gives us. Whereas, information
is how we interpret or translate the
language or data. It is the human
Data and information are interrelated. In
representation of data.
fact, they are often mistakenly used
interchangeably. Data is considered to be Some differences between data and
raw data. It represents ‘values of information:
qualitative or quantitative variables, • Data is used as input for the
belonging to a set of items.’ It may be in computer system. Information is
the form of numbers, letters, or a set of the output of data.
characters. It is often collected via • Data is unprocessed facts figures.
measurements. In data computing or data Information is processed data.
processing, data is represented by in a • Data doesn’t depend on
structure, such as tabular data, data tree, Information. Information depends
a data graph, etc. on data.
Data usually refers to raw data, or • Data is not specific. Information is
unprocessed data. It is the basic form of specific.
data, data that hasn’t been analyzed or

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 • Data is a single unit. A group of • Data is the raw material.
data which carries news and Information is the product.
meaning is called Information.
• Data doesn’t carry a meaning.
Information must carry a logical
meaning.

2. Comparison chart
(From: http://www.diffen.com/difference/Data_vs_Information)
There is a subtle difference between data and information. Data are the facts or details
from which information is derived. Individual pieces of data are rarely useful alone. For data
to become information, data needs to be put into context.

Data Information
Meaning Data is raw, unorganized facts When data is processed, organized,
that need to be processed. structured or presented in a given
Data can be something simple context so as to make it useful, it is
and seemingly random and called information.
useless until it is organized.

Example Each student's test score is one The average score of a class or of
piece of data. the entire school is information
that can be derived from the given
data.

Etymology "Data" comes from a singular "Information" is an older word that

Latin word, datum, which dates back to the 1300s and has
originally meant "something Old French and Middle English
given." Its early usage dates origins. It has always referred to
back to the 1600s. Over time "the act of informing, " usually in
"data" has become the plural of regard to education, instruction, or
datum. other knowledge communication.

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3. How to define data, information and knowledge
(from: http://searchdatamanagement.techtarget.com/feature/Defining-data-information-and-
knowledge )

Information systems might differ wildly in form and application but essentially they serve a
common purpose which is to convert data into meaningful information which in turn
enables the organisation to build knowledge:
• Data is unprocessed facts and figures without any added interpretation or analysis. "The
price of crude oil is $80 per barrel."
• Information is data that has been interpreted so that it has meaning for the user. "The
price of crude oil has risen from $70 to $80 per barrel" gives meaning to the data and so
is said to be information to someone who tracks oil prices.
• Knowledge is a combination of information, experience and insight that may benefit the
individual or the organisation. "When crude oil prices go up by $10 per barrel, it's likely
that petrol prices will rise by 2p per litre" is knowledge.

Figure 1.4 From data to information to knowledge

• The boundaries between the three terms are not always clear.What is data to one
person is information to someone else. To a commodities trader for example, slight
changes in the sea of numbers on a computer screen convey messages which act as
information that enables a trader to take action. To almost anyone else they would look
like raw data. What matters are the concepts and your ability to use data to build
meaningful information and knowledge.

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Converting data into information
Data becomes information when it is applied to some purpose and adds value for the
recipient. For example a set of raw sales figures is data. For the Sales Manager tasked with
solving a problem of poor sales in one region, or deciding the future focus of a sales drive,
the raw data needs to be processed into a sales report. It is the sales report that provides
information.
In the first column below you'll see some examples of the huge amount of data that
managers may receive. The second column then shows how the various types of data could
be processed to create useful information.

Data Possible methods of converting data into information

Sales figures Plot charts and identify trends

Market and competition data Find average or typical values

Financial performance Present complex data as a chart or graph

Production output Monitor changes over time and forecast future values

Costs of resources or other inputs Compare figures and identify similarities or differences

Staff absences, holidays or sick Assess whether a result is significant or occurred by

leave chance

Accident records Assess whether one thing is related to another

Table 1.1 Converting data to information

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