Shopping on line can be easy, simple and save you lots of money. It can also take a lot of your time, frustrate you, and result in unwanted purchases. Now the same can be said for regular high street shopping, but with the vast opportunity presented by the Internet it will pay you to spend a few minutes reading this and understanding how to better optimize your Data shopping experience:
1. Compare - without doubt the biggest advantage that the Data offers shoppers today is the ability to compare thousands of Data at a time. This is a great thing, but not necessarily all the time! Too much can be daunting at times so take advantage of the great comparison sites and where possible let them do the hard work for you.
2. Research - if it has been said it will be on the internet. Ignorance is no longer a justifiable reason for buying the wrong thing. Take the time to research in detail everything that you could possible want to know about
3. Testimonials - don't know anybody that has bought a Data? Wrong! If the Data is good the internet will let you know. Use the Internet as a friend and get testimonials before you buy.
4. Questions - Got a question about Data then search the Forums, FAQ's, Blogs etc. Don't be afraid to ask .....
5. Reputation - Never heard of the company selling Data? Don't worry, no reason why you should know every company in the world, but you know someone that does! Use the internet to find out what people are saying about Data and build up a picture of their reputation for sales, returns, customer service, delivery etc.
6. Returns - still worried that even after all of the above your Data wont be what you want? Check out the returns policy. There is so much competition now that someone, somewhere is bound to offer the terms that you are comfortable with.
7. Feedback - happy with your Data then let people know, after all you are depending on others people input in your buying decision, so why not give a little back.
8. Security - check for the yellow padlock on the Data site before you buy, and the s after http:/ /i.e. https:// = a secure site
9. Contact - got a question about Data, or want to leave a comment then check out the sites contact page. Reputable companies have them and respond.
10. Payment - ready to pay for your Data, then use your credit card or PayPal! Be aware of companies that don't accept them, there may be genuine reasons but given the huge amount of choice you have when buying online there is no reason at all not to buy via credit card or PayPal.
Data in everyday language is a
synonym for information.http://www.dict.org/bin/Dict?Form=Dict1&Query=data&Strategy=*&Database=* In the exact sciences there is a clear distinction between data and information, where data is a
measurement that can be disorganized and when the data becomes organized it becomes information. Data may relate to reality, or to fiction as in a fictional
movie. Data about reality consists of
propositions. A large class of practically important propositions are
measurements or observations of a variable.Such propositions may comprise numbers, words or images.
Etymology
The word
data is the plural of
Latin datum, Grammatical gender past
participle of
dare, "to give", hence "something given". The past participle of "to give" has been used for millennia, in the sense of a statement accepted at face value; one of the works of
Euclid, circa 300 BC, was the
Dedomena (in Latin,
Data). In discussions of problems in geometry,
mathematics,
engineering, and so on, the terms
givens and
data are used interchangeably. Such usage is the origin of
data as a concept in
computer science:
data are numbers, words, images, etc., accepted as they stand. Pronounced dey-tuh, dat-uh, or dah-tuh.
Experimental data are data generated within the context of a scientific investigation.
Usage in English
In English language, the word
datum is still used in the general sense of "something given", and more specifically in
cartography, geography, geology, NMR and
technical drawing to mean a reference point, reference line, or reference surface. More generally speaking, any measurement or result can be called a (single)
datum, but
data point is more common. Both
datums (see usage in
datum article) and the originally Latin plural
data are used as the plural of
datum in English, but
data is more commonly treated as a
mass noun and used in the Grammatical number, especially in day-to-day usage. For example, "This is all the data from the experiment". This usage would be inconsistent with the rules of Latin grammar, which would instead suggest "These are all the data from the experiment", but these are English sentences, so Latin grammar rules do not apply. Many British and UN academic, scientific, and professional
style guides (e.g., see page 43 of the World Health Organization Style Guide) request that authors treat
data as a plural noun. Nevertheless, it is now usually treated as a singular mass noun in both informal and educated usage, but usage in scientific publications shows a strong UK/U.S divide. U.S. usage prefers treating
data in the singular in all contexts, including serious and academic publishing."Sometimes scientists think of data as plural, as in
These data do not support the conclusions. But more often scientists and researchers think of data as a singular mass entity like information, and most people now follow this in general usage." UK usage now widely accepts treating
data as singular in standard EnglishNew Oxford Dictionary of English, 1999, including educated everyday usage"...in educated everyday usage as represented by the Guardian newspaper, it is nowadays most often used as a singular." at least in non-scientific use. UK scientific publishing usually still prefers treating it as a plural.. Some UK university style guides recommend using
data for both singular and plural use and some recommend treating it only as a singular in connection with computers.
Uses of
data in science and computing
Raw data are
numbers, character (computing), images or other outputs from devices to convert physical quantities into symbols, in a very broad sense. Such data are typically further data processing by a human or
input into a computer,
Computer storage and processed there, or transmitted (
output) to another human or computer.
Raw data is a relative term; data processing commonly occurs by stages, and the "processed data" from one stage may be considered the "raw data" of the next.
Mechanical computing devices are classified according to the means by which they represent data. An
analog computer represents a datum as a voltage, distance, position, or other physical quantity. A
digital computer represents a datum as a sequence of symbols drawn from a fixed
alphabet. The most common digital computers use a binary alphabet, that is, an alphabet of two characters, typically denoted "0" and "1". More familiar representations, such as numbers or letters, are then constructed from the binary alphabet.
Some special forms of data are distinguished. A
computer program is a collection of data, which can be interpreted as instructions. Most computer languages make a distinction between programs and the other data on which programs operate, but in some languages, notably
Lisp programming language and similar languages, programs are essentially indistinguishable from other data. It is also useful to distinguish
metadata, that is, a description of other data. A similar yet earlier term for metadata is "ancillary data." The prototypical example of metadata is the library catalog, which is a description of the contents of books.
Meaning of data, information and knowledge
The terms information and
knowledge are frequently used for overlapping concepts. These three concepts are ill- or ambiguously defined in the subject matter literature . However, in recent interdisciplinary research a few independent specializations of these terms have been proposed.
See also
References
Data in everyday language is a
synonym for information.http://www.dict.org/bin/Dict?Form=Dict1&Query=data&Strategy=*&Database=* In the exact sciences there is a clear distinction between data and information, where data is a
measurement that can be disorganized and when the data becomes organized it becomes information. Data may relate to reality, or to fiction as in a fictional
movie. Data about reality consists of propositions. A large class of practically important propositions are measurements or
observations of a
variable.Such propositions may comprise numbers,
words or
images.
Etymology
The word
data is the plural of Latin
datum, Grammatical gender past participle of
dare, "to give", hence "something given". The past participle of "to give" has been used for millennia, in the sense of a statement accepted at face value; one of the works of
Euclid, circa 300 BC, was the
Dedomena (in Latin,
Data). In discussions of problems in geometry,
mathematics,
engineering, and so on, the terms
givens and
data are used interchangeably. Such usage is the origin of
data as a concept in
computer science:
data are numbers, words, images, etc., accepted as they stand. Pronounced dey-tuh, dat-uh, or dah-tuh.
Experimental data are data generated within the context of a scientific investigation.
Usage in English
In English language, the word
datum is still used in the general sense of "something given", and more specifically in cartography,
geography,
geology, NMR and technical drawing to mean a reference point, reference line, or reference surface. More generally speaking, any measurement or result can be called a (single)
datum, but
data point is more common. Both
datums (see usage in
datum article) and the originally Latin plural
data are used as the plural of
datum in English, but
data is more commonly treated as a
mass noun and used in the Grammatical number, especially in day-to-day usage. For example, "This is all the data from the experiment". This usage would be inconsistent with the rules of Latin grammar, which would instead suggest "These are all the data from the experiment", but these are English sentences, so Latin grammar rules do not apply. Many British and UN academic, scientific, and professional
style guides (e.g., see page 43 of the World Health Organization Style Guide) request that authors treat
data as a plural noun. Nevertheless, it is now usually treated as a singular mass noun in both informal and educated usage, but usage in scientific publications shows a strong UK/U.S divide. U.S. usage prefers treating
data in the singular in all contexts, including serious and academic publishing."Sometimes scientists think of data as plural, as in
These data do not support the conclusions. But more often scientists and researchers think of data as a singular mass entity like information, and most people now follow this in general usage." UK usage now widely accepts treating
data as singular in standard EnglishNew Oxford Dictionary of English, 1999, including educated everyday usage"...in educated everyday usage as represented by the Guardian newspaper, it is nowadays most often used as a singular." at least in non-scientific use. UK scientific publishing usually still prefers treating it as a plural.. Some UK university style guides recommend using
data for both singular and plural use and some recommend treating it only as a singular in connection with computers.
Uses of
data in science and computing
Raw data are numbers, character (computing), images or other outputs from devices to convert physical quantities into symbols, in a very broad sense. Such data are typically further data processing by a human or input into a
computer,
Computer storage and processed there, or transmitted (output) to another human or computer.
Raw data is a relative term; data processing commonly occurs by stages, and the "processed data" from one stage may be considered the "raw data" of the next.
Mechanical computing devices are classified according to the means by which they represent data. An
analog computer represents a datum as a voltage, distance, position, or other physical quantity. A
digital computer represents a datum as a sequence of symbols drawn from a fixed
alphabet. The most common digital computers use a binary alphabet, that is, an alphabet of two characters, typically denoted "0" and "1". More familiar representations, such as numbers or letters, are then constructed from the binary alphabet.
Some special forms of data are distinguished. A
computer program is a collection of data, which can be interpreted as instructions. Most computer languages make a distinction between programs and the other data on which programs operate, but in some languages, notably Lisp programming language and similar languages, programs are essentially indistinguishable from other data. It is also useful to distinguish
metadata, that is, a description of other data. A similar yet earlier term for metadata is "ancillary data." The prototypical example of metadata is the library catalog, which is a description of the contents of books.
Meaning of data, information and knowledge
The terms
information and knowledge are frequently used for overlapping concepts. These three concepts are ill- or ambiguously defined in the subject matter literature . However, in recent interdisciplinary research a few independent specializations of these terms have been proposed.
See also
References
The Design and Technology Association - Home
16 Wellesbourne House, Walton Road, Wellesbourne, Warwicks. CV35 9JB | Tel: 01789 470007 | email: info@data.org.uk
Temperature data (HadCRUT3 and CRUTEM3)
Land and sea surface temperature anomalies, analysed by the Climate Research Unit, Norwich, UK. Includes scientific papers, dataset terminology, file formats, data for downloading ...
GaWC - World City Relational Data
This is the raison d'être of GaWC. For an introduction, see A Brief Guide to Quantitative Data Collection at GaWC, 1997-2001. INVITATION. World city researchers with relational ...
Opal - Business IT Communications
We deliver a variety of solutions including site-to-site communications, internet access, remote working, application hosting, web hosting, network security, data protection and ...
Met Office: Education weather data
These web pages are designed to help teachers and pupils by extending their knowledge of weather and climate - in the UK and around the world. This is achieved through the ...
Athletics Data
Athletics Data provides an unparalled range of statistical services. In depth UK year rankings for track, field, road & walks across all age ...
Data Protection Act 1998 (c. 29)
An Act to make new provision for the regulation of the processing of information relating to individuals, including the obtaining, holding, use or disclosure of such information.
UK Data Archive
Provides the largest collection of digital data in the social sciences and humanities in the United Kingdom.
BBC Backstage :: Feeds & APIs :: Data
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites
Archaeology Data Service: homepage
A searchable digital archive for archaeology, including Sites and Monuments Records for parts of the UK and Excavation Index for England. Text of CBA Research Reports. (Adobe ...
