Types of Data
There is an ever-increasing variety of data types.
The term ‘Big Data’ is much abused. What is ‘Big Data’?
The definitions abound. At a recent talk given by a psychologist, he used the following definitions:
- A dataset which is large for the discipline concerned
- Requires advanced data processing tools
- Requires (or gives rise to) complex mathematical models to make sense of the data.
There is the extra dimension of the various types of data –
Internal
Financial or management reports, logistic details, personnel records, etc.
External
Demographic or economic data, industry reports, traffic densities, crime, etc.
Structured
Data held in an organised form e.g. in a database of spreadsheet
Unstructured
Data buried in a text document or arriving over the web via social media, etc.