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Data and Information
Data is raw and unprocessed. Information is data given context so it answers a question.
Data vs Information
Oliver looks at Amelia’s cards. “We have data,” he says. “Now I need something I can use. How many of these new members live in York? The council asked, because they are planning a reading programme in the city.”
Amelia has a pile of cities: York, Bristol, Manchester. The cities are written down. The count is not.
| New members | |
|---|---|
From written cities to an answer
Amelia counts. Of these three new members, one lives in York: Sophie. Harry lives in Bristol. Emily lives in Manchester.
The written cities were data. The sentence “one of these three new members lives in York” is information.
Information is data that has been processed and given context so that it has meaning. The cards held raw cities. Amelia processed them by asking Oliver’s question, and the count became something he could tell the council.
The Library Count Example
Amelia writes the count in Oliver’s notebook: 1 of 3 new members in York. The cards stay as they are. The information is a new sentence, produced from the data.
The same data can produce different information if you ask a different question. “How many live in Bristol?” would give a different answer from the same three cards.
The same facts, two jobs
| Data | Information |
|---|---|
| York, Bristol, Manchester written on cards | One of these three members lives in York |
| 07700 900 123 | Call Sophie on 07700 900 123 about an overdue book |
| 142 loans written in Saturday’s register | Saturday is the busiest day this month |
Practice
Swipe or use the arrows to move between questions.
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