Question

How is data different from information?

Answer 1

Information is a processed, organised data presented in a given context and is useful to humans. Data is an individual unit that contains raw material which does not carry any specific meaning. Information is a group of data that collectively carry a logical meaning.

Answer 2

What is Data?

Data is a raw and unorganized fact that required to be processed to make it meaningful. Data can be simple at the same time unorganized unless it is organized. Generally, data comprises facts, observations, perceptions numbers, characters, symbols, image, etc.

Data is always interpreted, by a human or machine, to derive meaning. So, data is meaningless. Data contains numbers, statements, and characters in a raw form.

What is Information?

Information is a set of data which is processed in a meaningful way according to the given requirement. Information is processed, structured, or presented in a given context to make it meaningful and useful.

It is processed data which includes data that possess context, relevance, and purpose. It also involves manipulation of raw data.

Information assigns meaning and improves the reliability of the data. It helps to ensure undesirability and reduces uncertainty. So, when the data is transformed into information, it never has any useless details.

KEY DIFFERENCE

• Data is a raw and unorganized fact that is required to be processed to make it meaningful whereas Information is a set of data that is processed in a meaningful way according to the given requirement.

• Data does not have any specific purpose whereas Information carries a meaning that has been assigned by interpreting data.

• Data alone has no significance while Information is significant by itself.

• Data never depends on Information while Information is dependent on Data.

• Data measured in bits and bytes, on the other hand, Information is measured in meaningful units like time, quantity, etc.

• Data can be structured, tabular data, graph, data tree whereas Information is language, ideas, and thoughts based on the given data.