Data
Data is simple facts, lacking any context. If data doesn't inform us, it's not information. Or equally valid, without context data it is simply the raw material from which we depart to understanding. 07012007 is data, that can hold many meanings, a date, a batch number, an anniversary...
[Dürsteler, 2007]
Data are observational measurements that have been recorded in some way, whereas information is data that is generalized, ordered and contextualized in ways that give them
meaning. Information thus is selective toward data, separating the important from the relatively unimportant.
[Mennis et al., 2000]
see also: Data, Information, Knowledge, Wisdom
References
- [Dürsteler, 2007] Juan C. Dürsteler, Diagrams for Visualisation, Inf@Vis! (The digital magazine of InfoVis.net), Created at: Jan. 7, 2007, Retrieved at: Jan. 11, 2007, http://www.infovis.net/printMag.php?num=186&lang=2
- [Mennis et al., 2000] Jeremy L. Mennis, Donna J. Peuquet, and Liujian Qian, A conceptual framework for incorporating cognitive principles into geographical database representation, International Journal of Geographical Information Science, 14(6):510-520, 2000.