DATA AND INFORMATION

Data is raw, unorganized or unprocessed facts that need to be processed. Data can be something simple and seemingly random and useless until it is organized.

TYPES OF DATA

Qualitative data: is a descriptive data, it is not given numerically (it describes something); e.g. favorite colour, place of birth, favorite food, type of car etc.

Quantitative data: This is a numerical data. There are two types of quantitative data

Types of Quantitative Data

Continuous data: This can take any numerical value, it is often called measurement data; e.g. height, mass, length, weight.

Discrete data: This type of data can only take a specific numeric value, e.g. shoe size, number of brothers, number of cars in a car park.

EXAMPLES OF DATA

Numbers, Name of thing, place or animal, Words, Measurements, and Descriptions of things

SOURCES OF DATA

Television

Internet

Articles

Government documents

Newspapers and Magazines

Textbooks

WAYS OF HANDLING DATA

Electronic Methods: Move data to a properly secured server environment.

Move data needing limited on-going access to CD/DVD

Encrypt in a place

Non – Electronic Methods

INFORMATION

Information can be defined as a processed data that is meaningful to the user. Information can be used in the decision-making process.

EXAMPLES OF INFORMATION

Student ID card

Weather report

Student’s Report card

National passport

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

Internet

Database

Magazine/Newspaper

Document

Census Board