Topic 1: Data, Information & Knowledge

Question 1

What is data?

Answer 1

Data is raw facts and figures or a set of values, measurements or records of transactions.

Question 2

What is information?

Answer 2

Information is processed data. It has a context and meaning.

Question 3

What is knowledge?

Answer 3

Knowledge is derived by applying rules to information.

Question 4

What are two advantages of encoding data?

Answer 4

Data is stored in a consistent format. Validation checks can be applied to ensure data is accurate as it is inputted. Faster to enter/type in. Search query is faster.

Question 5

Give two examples of encoded data.

Answer 5

Airport codes LHR, LGW, SXF.
Country codes GB, FR, DE. 
Height - tall, medium, small. 
A-Level grades A, B, C. 
Hair colour - black, brown, red, blonde. 
Restaurant review - 5-star to 1-star.

Question 6

What are two problems with encoding data?

Answer 6

Coding sometimes involves subjective judgements (‘Value judgements’). For example, a restaurant could get a 5-star review, but another reviewer might give it only 2 stars.
Coding sometimes involves loss of information because categories are too coarse. For example, coding hair colour as ‘brown’ would include a wide range of shades from light to dark.

Question 7

Why does encoding sometimes involve loss of information?

Answer 7

For example, two students score 98% and 80% in the same exam. Their final grades are both A. Hence, the information is lost that the first student scored higher than the second student.