Data and Information
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It is vital that users are able to differentiate between the terms ‘data’ and ‘information’. Several people use these two terms interchangeably but they do not mean the same thing.
Data is the raw material that needs processing before it can be used by people. These include facts, figures, words and symbols. The most fundamental thing about data that you must understand is that data is meaningless on its own. For example, a number of 1249 does not contain any significance on its own. In other words, data needs to be organised, processed, interpreted and structured before it becomes useful.
The simplest way of explaining information is ‘data that has been processed, interpreted and structured so that it can be utilised by people’. Information captures the data at a certain point in time and adds context to data so that it makes sense. For example, the number 1249 is data, but the statement: ‘1249 is the last 4 numbers of my phone number’ is information. It is useful to certain people and it is a captured piece of data at a certain point in time. |
A way to remember the difference between these is that data is always correct; it originates from the original source only and cannot be moved. Information, on the other hand, can be erroneous. For example, a specific book cannot cost $20 and $40 at the same time. However, information on the store’s website can be incorrect, stating that it is $10.