Sarah,
Data is essentially raw and unprocessed. For example numerical statistical
data stored in a file (or on paper) with no indication of what the numbers
stand for is 'data'. If you combine this with other data which indicates
what the numbers refer to this combination is 'information'. This process
can continue by further processing, or combining more data, to produce
information with a richer content.
Just my way of looking at this question :-) .
Regards,
John Smith,
University of Kent at Canterbury.
On Wed, 20 Jun 2001, Sarah Agarwal wrote:
> Hello everyone
>
> There are conflicting opinions here about whether data and information are essentially the same thing. My opinion is that data is essentially black and white, eg, stats, tables, graphs, chunks of stuff, whereas information is considerably greyer - books, articles, leaflets, instructions, etc. Opinions please!
>
> Sarah
> Environment Agency
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