Data

Activity 1
Review
Explore
Relate
Gallery

We are in the information age. People have more access to information more quickly than ever before. Information comes at us every day in the form of numbers, words, diagrams, images, tables, graphs, and animation. Information is researched,generated, collected, shared and used in new and meaningful ways. With the development of computers, information could be stored and shared in massive quantities never known before. By 2002, there was more information stored digitally than non digital. By 2007, 94 percent of all human data was digital. We all have access to information. It is our task to understand information, evaluate the quality of information, and use it if it is relevant.

Data is the new language.

Activity 1 – Types of Data Collection

Data has four distinct classifications of information: Primary, Secondary, Quantitative, and Qualitative. Primary Data is information collected by an individual or a team of individuals firsthand. The data collected is usually for a specific project, such as demographics, population age, average income, life expectancy, and many other topics. The key is that the information is gathered in person, firsthand.

Secondary Data accesses existing information originally gathered by someone else (e.g., census data, past studies, even past century information!).

Quantitative Data is collected data that expresses a certain amount or is measurable. Quantitative data is based on numbers.

Qualitative Data is collected information that culminates from interviews, audio, text, and visual media.