Data Definition and 998 Threads

Data are units of information, often numeric, that are collected through observation. In a more technical sense, data are a set of values of qualitative or quantitative variables about one or more persons or objects, while a datum (singular of data) is a single value of a single variable.Although the terms "data" and "information" are often used interchangeably, these terms have distinct meanings. In some popular publications, data are sometimes said to be transformed into information when they are viewed in context or in post-analysis. However, in academic treatments of the subject data are simply units of information. Data are used in scientific research, businesses management (e.g., sales data, revenue, profits, stock price), finance, governance (e.g., crime rates, unemployment rates, literacy rates), and in virtually every other form of human organizational activity (e.g., censuses of the number of homeless people by non-profit organizations).
Data are measured, collected and reported, and analyzed, and from data visualizations such as graphs, tables or images are produced. Data as a general concept refers to the fact that some existing information or knowledge is represented or coded in some form suitable for better usage or processing. Raw data ("unprocessed data") is a collection of numbers or characters before it has been "cleaned" and corrected by researchers. Raw data needs to be corrected to remove outliers or obvious instrument or data entry errors (e.g., a thermometer reading from an outdoor Arctic location recording a tropical temperature). Data processing commonly occurs by stages, and the "processed data" from one stage may be considered the "raw data" of the next stage. Field data is raw data that is collected in an uncontrolled "in situ" environment. Experimental data is data that is generated within the context of a scientific investigation by observation and recording.
Data has been described as the new oil of the digital economy.

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  1. garrettwittag

    I Is Schrodingers cat real or just a way to put a lack of data

    you put a cat in a box with radiation And a poison vile, and the radiation has a 50% chance of killing the cat. Before you open the box and actually measure the results the cat is both dead and alive simultaneously. This is how subatomic particles work, as discovered from the double slit...
  2. C

    How to obtain MCNP tally data that is *not* normalized by nps

    Dear all, This is my first post in this forum. I would like to know how to obtain the result data of an MCNPX or MCNP6 tally for each simulated history, before the data of different histories is averaged and normalized by the total number of simulated source particles (nps). I'm calculating...
  3. Nikhil N

    How to test CST design studio for analyzing data errors

    Hi.. I want to know how can we specify the data(electrical) passing through cable that we are designing in CST design studio to test the effect of EMI on the data passing?
  4. DoobleD

    B Build a "full" wave function without data in simple problems

    Is it possible to build the full wave function for a simple problem in QM, such as an infinite well, without any experimental data ? I'm learning about QM, and I saw how to compute energy states (the wave function for each allowed energy level) in some usual QM basic problems. But then, I was...
  5. newjerseyrunner

    Where Is the Majority of Climate Data Stored?

    I keep reading news articles about how researches are trying to dump as much climate data as possible off of government computers before the new presidential term. How much data is actually stored on government servers and no where else? Petabytes? Exabytes? Is it the majority of raw data...
  6. J

    A Where to find experimental data?

    Hello folks, When you study a pendulum or the path followed by a ball falling under gravity the first thing you have in mind is the experimental result, because you can actually see it. It is easy to measure or find the position and velocity of those systems. If we talk about a particle with...
  7. Jules Winnfield

    I How do I compare a model to logarithmic data?

    I have a model which is quadratic (e.g. ##y = k x^2##). I'm comparing it against a large set of data (galaxy cluster masses) which spans several Log10 decades (e.g. ##10^{11}## to ##10^{15}## solar masses). What is the right way to say how good the data fits the model? Obviously the errors in...
  8. cynnetje

    A Do outliers exist in categorical data and how can they be detected?

    Hello! I am working on a pre-analysis plan and have to specify what I am going to do with outliers. I have two categorical variables (5 levels and 2 levels) and I will be performing a chi-square test for independence. I thought of using a boxplot to detect outliers, but now I am not sure if...
  9. R

    Using the Fourier transform to interpret oscilloscope data

    We have a waveform that is composed of several waves, maybe something like this: If we Fourier transform the graph we get something like this: My question is, does the value of the largest column represent the peak to peak voltage of the waveform pictured above?
  10. A

    Fortran How to change data from linear scale to log scale

    I am trying to calculate and draw a relation between (IL) and the Growth rate (m). I have used Il as range from 10^15 to 10^18 in the calculation and when I draw the relation (x-axis ) is Il and (y-axis ) is m. I converted the IL to be in log scale. I noticed unacceptable output. So, I am...
  11. MiloBoots

    MATLAB How to extract pdb data in Matlab

    Hey I want to be able to extract the coordinates of different elements in a PDB data file. I have been able to extract the coordinates for all the atoms in 3 arrays in the x, y, z directions. However, I would like to have the x, y, z coordinates for each element separate. So an array for the...
  12. B

    A Curve Fitting Data: Gamma Spectroscopy Lab Results

    Hi I have some data from a gamma spectroscopy lab and using a series of known radioactive sources I obtain a calibration curve. The equipment is a scintillation crystal coupled to a photo-multiplier tube connected to a multi-channel analyser to obtain an energy spectrum. Using Excel I add a...
  13. V

    Flushing Data in Loop? -- Keep Entering Empty Space

    Hello, I am in my first class for C++, so I apologize in advance if this question is amateurish. To be clear, this project is already finished, and what I am trying to do already counted points off against me; I am not interested in cheating, I just want to know what the answer to my issue is...
  14. Carl Loomis-Anderson

    Fortran Fortran77-- retrieve data from large source

    I'm currently doing a chemical model of Titan's atmosphere and the simulation outputs several files (up to 1000) and I need to get an array of data out of them from a specific section labeled with a chemical name (i.e HC5N) that has an arbitrary number of values (usually above 100). I've seen...
  15. Leonardo Machado

    C/C++ Extracting information of data in column format using C++

    Hello friends, how are you ? Today's question is: How do i choose the data i want to extract from a file in c++ ? I have this data file in columns format, something like: x y z 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 I know there is the command file.getline() , and this...
  16. Z

    B Creating Equation Based on Data Set of x,y Values

    I'm attempting to reclaim lost knowledge... hopefully this works. I would like to take a data set I have x,y values and project the trend beyond the (10) values I currently have. For example, I have a graph with (10) values for x and y, but would like to graph the trend created by values 1-10 to...
  17. R

    How to Log Continuous Peak-to-Peak Voltage Changes on an Oscilloscope?

    I am trying to measure and record the change in peak to peak voltage (measured by a hydrophone) for the following experimental set-up: As you can see the waveform in the vessel changes with vertical location, therefore I have a hydrophone connected to a motor that can adjust its position. The...
  18. R

    Advice for representing experimental data

    Hi all, I have recently done my first experiment in fluid mechanics, and it was a gravity current experiment using UDVP. I have augmented the data, as to remove noise, and performed the statistical analysis. I have text files which contain the velocities measured by each sensor over the time...
  19. L

    I Converting Planck data for spherical projection

    Does anyone know how I could convert data from Planck, which appear as an oval shape, into a form that I can easily map onto a sphere (ie. a rectangular shape in 2:1 aspect ratio)? Here is an example Planck image: http://sci.esa.int/science-e-media/img/61/Planck_CMB_Mollweide_4k.jpg I see that...
  20. TLeit

    Dwight's vs. Burlington's Mathematical Data book?

    My quantum physics professor this semester showed us a useful book he had with tables of integrals, etc. in it called "Tables of Integrals and Other Mathematical Data" (4th edition) by Herbert Bristol Dwight. I have been considering buying this book from Amazon but was waiting because today was...
  21. J

    A Where can I find data on electrical conductivity?

    Hi folks, I purchased two books on electric transport at the nanoscale and unfortunately I just found theoretical models and formalism... but the actual data from the experiments was not there. So I am curious about it, I am looking for information on nanowires, quantum dots etc and I would...
  22. M

    Use of solid materials as medium for data transfer

    Really odd question for you guys but I'm curious about your input, and apologies if it's a foolish question to ask anyway(I'm a CS student and this came up in a discussion with a classmate of mine). So I know this is a fairly odd thought and not likely practical in any real world scenario, but...
  23. chastiell

    I About chi-squared and r-squared test for fitting data

    hi all, i just want you to tell me if my ideas are correct or not : As far as i can see the R^2 test is usually used in OLS (ordinary least squares) method where many conditions for data is showed (something like linearity in coefficients, expectation values for perturbations must be zero, and...
  24. T

    I Linear regression on data collection error

    Hi I've collected few sets of data and obtained significant different linear regression (R^2) in 2 particular sets of data . Does that indicates the 2 sets of data is not validated which might due to data collection error? For example, 20 sets of data contain linear regression of 0.900+...
  25. Jim Hasty

    A Redshift data on stars the same distance from earth

    Can anyone in the cosmology community direct me to hard research data that specifically demonstrates: there is no detectable redshift difference in stars that are the same distance from the Earth but in all different directions. This is of course related to 'does the universe have a preferred...
  26. kelvin490

    MATLAB How to extract data from existing JPEG/TiFF graph?

    Is there any method to extract data from a graph in JPEG/TIFF format, using simple software such as MATLAB? I have a graph as shown below: I only have this picture but no raw data and I want to plot the black curve in this graph. How to get approximate numerical data of the x and y axis...
  27. lep11

    MATLAB Data Analysis: Observation Model Problem

    The observation model will be ##z=H\theta+v##, where ##z## is column vector containing the results, ##H## is the observation matrix, ##\theta## is the parameter vector and ##v## is a vector containing random additive noise. b.) In this case ##z##=[1 1 0; 1 0 1; 0 1 1; 1 1 1]*[##m_1## ##m_2##...
  28. UNCCME

    How are Flight Data Recorders built?

    I am curious as to the components of FDRs that allow them to sustain such g-forces and immense heat. Surely it's not just a steel box filled with paraffin wax. What alloys are used? what shapes are used in internal construction to prevent crushing/penetration? What do they insulate with and how...
  29. T

    MHB How to find equation from given data?

    Dear friends, I am unable to solve the following problem. Will appreciate your help here. Thanks in advance. The Purple Mobile Phone Company offers the following two pricing plans to customers. Plan A costs \$15/month, with calls at 25c/minute, while Plan B costs \$100/month with calls at...
  30. S

    I How to Fold Data Points to a Period

    Hello! I need to fold some data points to a period, but I am not sure what does that mean. Some help please.
  31. R

    Changing sign of data (regression)

    Homework Statement I was trying to fit experimental data which are theoretically modeled by an exponential function. They are shown in the first graph below. For the first set (red line), the data does not appear to be exponential. My lecturer once said that I need to flip the signs of the...
  32. M

    B How Can You Linearize a 1/x Graph in Physics Lab Data?

    So I've been given this practice problem for a test tomorrow and have no clue how to do it. Info: Students Perform a lab and record data on how changes in mass affect acceleration "Derive an equation that you graph to make a linear relationship from the recorded data." Given is a data table...
  33. P

    Medical Estimating drug dose based on pharmacokinetic data

    How do clinicians determine the appropriate drug dose based on pharmacokinetic data? I was reading up on a Phase 1 clinical trial study for a chemo drug and was wondering how do clinicians and doctors come up with the drug dose based on these studies. Do they make use of the pharmacokinetic data...
  34. H

    B How can we accurately model data using curve fitting techniques?

    While using a piece of jewelry ie a fine chain hanging against a piece of graph paper then placing an origin, axes and scale on the paper I collected the position of the chain as a set of coordinates (x,y). Entering the data into curve fitting software a perfect fit for a polynomial degree 2...
  35. P

    New Radial Velocity Experiment (RAVE) Data Release

    The RAVE project site: https://www.rave-survey.org/project/ In the above image taken from one of the RAVE DR5 video, surveyed stars are shown in 3D and color coded according to their positive or negative radial velocity relative to the Sun. I'm a bit puzzled that stars on one 'side' tend to...
  36. jtbell

    Imagine your website getting hit with 620 Gbps of data

    Massive web attack hits security blogger (BBC.com)
  37. F

    Determining the rate law from experimental data

    Homework Statement First question on PDF: http://ars-chemia.net/Classes/102/Problem_Sets/Practice%20Exam%20for%20Exam%201%20Key.pdf Homework Equations I used the initial rates method: Rate2/Rate1=k2*[A]^m/k1*[A]^m The Attempt at a Solution When I solve these types of problems with the...
  38. sukalp

    C/C++ Introduction to Data Structures in C++

    In C++ we have 2 types of data structures :- 1)simple data structure so array and structure come in simple data structure group 2)compound data structure so stack,queue,link list,tree come in compound data structure group. In Indian board CBSE data structure linked list is not included it is...
  39. M

    I How to calculate slope for data set

    Hi PF! I have some data (y-value data and x-value data) which I can plot to make a curve (see attachment, the top curve). However, when trying to compute the slope of this data I have an issue (see attachment, the bottom "curve"). The formula I am using for slope is ##(y_{i+1}-y_{i-1})/(2...
  40. J

    Plotting Graphs to fit the Data

    Homework Statement Hi, we investigated how the length of a pendulum affects the time period of oscillation. We collected data by changing the length (l) of the pendulum and measuring the time period (T). We then squared the T value before plotting it on the y-axis and on the x-axis we just...
  41. V

    How to calculate Distance from Accelerometer Data

    Hi All, I am a beginner in embedded world. Currently I am working on MPU9250 motion sensor. My objective of project is to calculate the distance in real time using accelerometer. e.g. If I am at point A (i.e located at 5cm on X-axis) and I am willing to move towards point B (i.e. located at 50cm...
  42. Mathamans

    Using what I've learned in the classroom for Graphical Data

    I'm a first-year undergraduate student in mathematics and physics. In my Chemistry Lab class we've recently completed a graphical representation of data assignment and it was interesting. My question is, what can I do in regards to mathematics and physics, or something interesting in general...
  43. G

    I Why does a kinked wire reduce data throughput?

    Hi. I read that every kink in a data wire reduces throughput. What's the physical reason for this? Does the resistance of the wire increase at a kink or is this an inductive effect or something else?
  44. DeldotB

    Mean and Variance of a data set

    Homework Statement In this problem we will be generating and analyzing lists of normally distributed random numbers. The distribution we are sampling has true mean 0 and standard deviation 1. If we sample this distribution N=5 times, what do we expect the mean to be? How about the standard...
  45. N

    A Data Analysis: consistency of e.g. two measurements

    How do we check consistency of measured data, e.g. x1 = 1 ± 0.1 x2 = 1.4 ± 0.3 I can do this for two different samples to check for significance in terms of different means, but how to check internal consistency of a single set. How can we do this using: a) standard normal probability table...
  46. EnumaElish

    Can there be insurance for data loss due to EMP

    If an insurer were to offer a policy against data loss from a catastrophic event such as an electromagnetic pulse, the insurer would be in no position to pay when the contingency occurs, the reason being that all of his own bank account will have been wiped clean by the same EMP. Therefore I...
  47. A

    B Experimental data of bremsstrahlung

    Hi ! I'm not sure to post my question in a good place so please move if inappropriate... I search experimental data of bremsstrahlung interaction as we can found experimental data of nuclear interaction on EXFOR. Someone know a website which provide that ? Thanks in advance !
  48. U

    C data structures and algorithms - graph problem

    Homework Statement Given connected, directed and weighted (positive weights) graph. Find the shortest cyclic path for each vertex. Cycles have back edges and can also be self loops. 2. The attempt at a solution I need some clarifications for this problem related to implementation in C. After...
  49. M

    I GPS Data Availability - Positions, Clock Readings etc.

    Hi there! Does anyone know where data from the GPS is available? Any data at all - positions. clock readings anything like that. Many thanks!
  50. L

    Python Finding specific points in data array

    I have this really noisy data and I'm wanting to plot Temperature v. Time. I used this function to calculate a moving average. Here's some sample code. BA1='ANP-Heat-BA1.csv' #Time Trial 1 time1=pd.read_csv(BA1,skiprows=0) time1=time1['Time(s)'] #Temperature tmp1=pd.read_csv(BA1,skiprows=0)...
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