Information is any form of knowledge that exists within a communication or system and can be used in the decision-making process. It is typically derived from raw data which has been collected, organized, and interpreted by humans or computers to create meaning. Information can exist in various forms such as written documents, images, maps, audio recordings, videos and more.
Data on the other hand refers to facts and figures collected for analysis. It includes both quantitative data (numbers) and qualitative data (words/descriptions). Data is often referred to as the “raw material” of information because it must be transformed into meaningful forms with context before it can become actually useful to decision makers.
Discuss and Define what is meant by information, and data
For instance, when compiling weather reports one may collect temperature readings across different locations over specific intervals of time; however this set of numbers alone does not provide enough context or meaning for a person to make decisions about planning activities outdoors. The same set of numbers could instead represent a valuable resource if we interpret them in terms of maximum/minimum temperatures for each day throughout the week; allowing us to decide whether it would be suitable for an outdoor picnic today or if we should wait until tomorrow when conditions are more favorable.
To summarize: Information can be described as structured knowledge that has been created by interpreting raw data while data itself refers strictly to facts/figures compiled mainly through observation/measurement processes without any additional interpretation applied yet.