What is the difference between data and information?

[Adam]

I am interested in reading definitions/differences for data and information from various fields fo study. Anything you've got from your own field or another would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

[Monique]

Well, the following is just my interpretation related to my work:

I can collect tons of data and have no information at all when I analyze the state of markers along the genome.

The data only becomes information to me when I pass it through statistical algorithms, which will tell me if there is an underlying pattern to the data, thus giving me information. Then there are still different levels of informativeness, based on the P-value that comes with the data-points.

 

[selfAdjoint]

24, 36, 38 is data.

38, 24, 36 is information!

 

[mmwave]

Originally posted by selfAdjoint
24, 36, 38 is data.

38, 24, 36 is information!

Naughty, naughty.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Originally posted by mmwave
Naughty, naughty.

But when you're right, you're right.

 

[Mr. Robin Parsons]

Originally posted by selfAdjoint
24, 36, 38 is data.

38, 24, 36 is information!

Just for data, the information is 90-60-90...SI!

 

[Monique]

Originally posted by Mr. Robin Parsons
Just for data, the information is 90-60-90...SI!

Those are the female measurements?

 

[russ_watters]

Data is a subset of information, ie it is unprocessed or un-interpreted information. "Raw data" would then be redundant.

 

[Phobos]

Richard Dawkin's "The Information Challenge"...

http://www.skeptics.com.au/journal/dawkins1.htm

 

[selfAdjoint]

I used to work in "Data processing", then as the years went by it became "Information processing" and now it's "Information technology" or IT.

My very personal take is that data is objective, everyone can agree that there's a 3 in such and such column of a particular file.

Information, however requires human understanding, and is therefor at least a little bit subjective. What does that 3 "mean" to different people?