Understanding Data

Data are collections of characters

Data are collections of characters, numbers, and other symbols representing values of situations or variables. They are stored electronically because

Structured data is organised and recorded

Structured data is organised and recorded in a well-defined tabular format with rows and columns. Each column represents an attribute.

Unstructured data does not follow

Unstructured data does not follow a traditional row-and-column format. Examples include web pages, text documents, business reports, books, audio/vide

Metadata is data about data

Metadata is data about data. It describes unstructured data, such as email subject, recipient, body, and attachment, or image size, type, and resoluti

Data collection means identifying already available

Data collection means identifying already available data or gathering data from appropriate sources for later use.