Data

Data is the raw material for information. Information is knowledge communicated in a useful form. Data is simply a collection of facts and figures that have been gathered together for easy reference, analysis and decision making.

Data may be structured, unstructured or semi-structured. Structured data refers to data that has been organized into fields within a database table. Unstructured data refers to data that has not been organized into fields and may include emails, social media posts and documents such as scanned receipts or bills. Semi-structured data refers to a combination of both structured and unstructured data.