 What are data?

Most people associate data with statistics that have been organized in
tables. They are right, but only partially. You will also be right in
associating data with numbers, such as, 12.34, 0.3456, -111.01, 12 feet,
45.4 kilograms, 6000 miles, etc. But, would you agree that the words
that I have written since the beginning of this unit are also data?

The 1988 Webster's Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary of the English

Dictionary says that data (singular, datum) as 'facts, information,
statistics, or the like, either historical or derived by calculation or
experimentation.

This definition suggests that data are usually in the form of numbers
and statistics obtained from scientific experiments or computations, and
take the form of statistics. This seems to agree with the popular
conception of data noted above. The second important message of the
definition is that data do not just fall from the sky like manna, but are
generated through activities that are associated with scientific research
such as experiments, measurement of variables, and the computation of
data to derive other data such as sums, averages, quotients, etc.
 Data versus Precepts

An important characteristic of data is that they are invariably, symbols

from a language or culture to convey or express facts, truths or ideas.
Moreover, the symbols must be recorded so that they are verifiable over
time.

 Data versus information

Data are different from precepts. But, some people believe that data is
synonymous with information. Do you agree?

The same Webster's dictionary cited above defines information as

knowledge communicated or received concerning a particular fact or
circumstance; news; any knowledge gained through communication,
research or instruction.

The implication of these definitions is that information is presumed

communicated when a newscaster reads the 6 o'clock news to the world,
and when a scientist reports on a new discovery or fact in a scientific
journal, and when someone writes "I am happy". Information is also
presumably transferred, when a lecturer (just like I) passes on some
knowledge to her student (just like you) either orally in a classroom or
through a lecture unit like the one you are now reading.

One thing you might have noticed about the definition of information is
that people and knowledge are involved when we talk about information.
Information is usually extracted from the knowledge possessed by
someone or some community, and then communicated through data to
other people or communities. Such other people must then interpret the
data towards gaining information for improving their own knowledge.
In other words, information is like a stream that flows from one pool of
knowledge to another.

You might need a break at this point to reflect further on the possible
similarity and differences between data and information.

See you later.

 Data information: an example

Welcome back.
By way of summarizing for you what you have learnt so far, let me now
give you the definitions of data and information that you will find very
useful in this course.

Data are created whenever someone uses communication symbols such

as words, numbers, graphic images, e.t.c. to represent ideas or
information. The words, numbers, images are the data.

Information is the idea or knowledge that someone seeks to represent

with some words, numbers or images. Information is also the idea or
knowledge that someone is able to infer from those words, numbers of
images.

You should also note the following subtle difference between data and
information. Data is plural; hence, we say 'data are. By contrast,
information is always singular; hence, we say 'information is ..'. The
reason is that data are invariably a set of symbols, which could be
chunked or re-organized into smaller subsets as needed or convenient.

By contrast, the idea or information conveyed by any set of symbols is

usually regarded as an indivisible whole. Any attempt to subtract from
the idea or information would usually change the idea or information.
Hence, information is regarded as a singular noun.
 Information and Knowledge

I have mentioned the concept of knowledge so many times already, but

without defining it formally. To define it, I will once again borrow ideas
again from Webster's dictionary. The dictionary gives as least eight
different definitions and usages of knowledge, including:

1. acquaintance with facts, truths and principles, as from study or

investigation;

2. familiarity or conversant, as with a particular subject, branch or

learning, etc;

3. acquaintance or familiarity gained by sight, experience or report

(from somebody else);

4. awareness, as of a fact or circumstance;

5. that which is or may be known, information;

6. state of knowing; perception of fact or truth; clear and certain

mental apprehension;
7. the body of truths or facts accumulated by mankind in the course of
time;

8. The sum of what is known.

Let me now interpret for you what all these definitions suggest.
Knowledge is the extent of conversant or familiarity by particular
individuals, communities, or mankind as a whole, with certain facts,
truths, principles or subjects. Knowledge consists of facts, truths and
ideas that fit together to form a coherent and meaningful whole. A
person's overall knowledge influences how she perceives the world
around her. In other words, knowledge is used by people to interpret
and evaluate new information. Knowledge is built up over time through
observation, experience, or reports of new facts, truths and ideas.
Knowledge serve as a pool from which people can extract specific truth,
facts and ideas (i.e., information) for informing or instructing other
people thereby improving those other people's knowledge.

 Data sources as information sources

A data source is any medium that has been used to convey data symbols.
Hence, and you should have guessed, data sources include various t ypes
of documents, including paper documents, computer documents, etc.
Moreover, in view of the close relationship between data as symbols and
information as the ideas conveyed or implied by the symbols, these
sources of data are usually also regarded as sources of information. In
turn, because information is used to improve knowledge, these sources
of information are sometimes also regarded as sources of knowledge.

Nevertheless, you should always keep in mind the fine distinction

between data, information and knowledge: data are the symbols that
have been used to convey specific ideas, or information. Knowledge is a
large pool of meaningfully interconnected ideas possessed by someone.
Knowledge can be improved by the flow of new ideas ( i.e., new
information).

 Why bother about information and knowledge?

You might at this point be wondering why I am taking you on a

seemingly unnecessary tour of the concepts of information and
knowledge whereas this course is supposedly only about data
organization and management. The point is that data and information
are often used synonymously by many people, including information
professionals.
This is probably that data are the symbols, and information is the idea(s)
implied by the symbols. Hence, people often mention information
management when they really mean data management, and vice versa.
In turn, information shares attributes with knowledge. Information are
specific facts, truths and ideas, whereas knowledge is a pool of
interconnected facts, truths and ideas. Hence, people also often mention
knowledge management when they are discussing information
management, and vice versa.

 Conclusion

Now that you have understood what data are, and how they differ from
precepts, information and knowledge, you will be better able to
appreciate the fact that data are visible everywhere - in books,
newspapers, office documents, computers, billboards, posters, etc.
Nevertheless, the ideas or information implied by the creators of the
data are never known for certain. So also are the ideas or information
that different people can obtain from the data. Much of course depends
on the abilities of people to convey information with data, and to infer
information from data. These abilities depend on their knowledge.
Accordingly, this course, Data organization and management aim to
improve your knowledge of the principles of effective creation,
organization and management of data, and to some extent, information
and knowledge.

 Data organization

Data organization is concerned with the selection, combination,

arrangement and formatting of symbols such as words, numbers and
images to form data. The aim of data organization is to facilitate
effective storage, transfer, computation or interpretation of the data by
either human beings or machines.

You will recall from unit 1 that data are invariably created to express or
convey information. However, data can be created out of different
combinations of symbols including words, numbers, graphs, pictures,
sound, etc. data organizations entail the analysis and applications of
strategies for selecting, combining and using words, numbers and other
types of symbols to create data for expressing information.

Data organization as a subject of study focuses on the analysis and

application of appropriate methods, procedures and techniques for
determining, for instance, how:
1. Words, sentences and paragraphs are, or should be selected, written
and arranged by an author into chapters of a textbook for, say, 100-
level students;

2. Statistical data are, or should be, arranged into informative tables;

3. Menu items, icons, tool bars, words, etc. are, or should be, displayed
in the windows of a computer screen;

4. News items and other stories are, or should be, arranged in a

newspaper edition;

5. Data of different types should be defined and organized for efficient

storage and retrieval in a computer;

 Data management

Data management refers to the various activities that must be

performed by individuals or organizations to ensure that only useful
data are created for conveying information; that the data are
appropriately organized, analyzed, stored and retrieved; that data are
efficiently transferred across space and time as needed; that data are
effectively protected from loss or damage; and that data are properly
interpreted, analyzed and used to obtain information. Clearly, data
organization is an aspect of data management.

 The data management cycle

A useful approach to explaining data management activities is to

consider the series of processes that may be undertaken over time in
respect of data. The series of processes is collectively referred to as the
data (or information) life- cycle. The data life-cycle traces the different
data management activities that may be performed on data. Data
management processes in the life-cycle are shown in Figure 2.1.

They are:

1. Data policy making

2. Data definition and structuring
3. Data collection and creation
4. Data validation and quality control
5. Data analysis and summarization
6. Data storage and retrieval
7. Data archiving and protection
8. Data communication and transfer
9. Data display and presentation
Data policy-making: refers to the process of making decisions about
what data should be created and for what purpose. Such decisions are
very important in that they determine the ultimate usefulness and value
of the data, as well as the cost of managing the data. For instance, before
collecting data in a research study, a researcher must determine why he
must collect data, what data to collect, as well as how, where, when and
from whom to collect the data. In other words, data policy making
entails planning what data to create, collect, store, analyze and transfer.
Careful data planning and policy-making is important in all contexts,
but more so in situations where the various data management activities
are likely to consume substantial resources, or where data management
mistakes can be very costly.

Data definition and structuring refers to the process of determining

the formats in which data will be created, acquired, stored and
transferred. This often requires specifying in detail what types of words,
numbers; graphical images and sounds will be created, collected,
acquired and stored. This entails, deciding for instance whether
temperature will be measured in degree Fahrenheit or Celsius, and to
how many decimal places; whether names of people will be recorded in
the order of surname, first name, and middle name, or in some other
order; whether photographs of people taken in colour or in just black
and white, and so on.
Data collection and creation refers to the process of actually
creating or collecting data in line with the data policies in (i) above, and
the defined data definitions in (ii) above. This may entail

1) Composing combinations of symbols to create new data;

2) Using mechanical equipment (e.g. A weight scale) to measure

variables, and then recording the measured values;

3) Using computer devices to capture data automatically as events take

place;

4) Copying existing data from various data and information sources

such as books, journals, statistical publications, computers, etc.

5) Representing with data the opinions expressed by people on a

questionnaire, or in interviews;

Data collection may be undertaken in a variety of contexts: in a

laboratory, as homes, during a national census; in educational
institutions, as students register for different programmes and courses.

Data validation and quality control refers to the process of

verifying and certifying that the data that have been created, collected or
acquired from other sources meet certain minimum standards of
accuracy and consistency. Both human and automated methods can be
used for data validation and quality control. An example of a human
system is to require a supervisor to cross-check the data that typists had
typed or that customer had written on forms. An example of a computer
based approach is to use special computer software to check the spelling
of the words in a computer document.

Data analysis and summarization refers to the different processes

for comparing and analyzing data, and for computing, aggregating and
summarizing data into other data such as statistics, charts, maps,
abstracts and summaries. Different types of strategies are used for data
analysis and summarization. For instance, statisticians use formula to
analyse different types of data. And information scientists analyze, and
compose abstracts of the data in different types of documents.

 Information systems

What is an information system? An information system may be

described as a set of interdependent activities designed to provide data
and/or information to people. Information systems aim to provide, or
facilitate access to data and information for a particular group of people,
who may be researchers, managers, students, or the public.
Before talking more about information systems however, let me explain
the essential features of systems. A system is defined as a set of mutually
interdependent components all contributing toward the achievement of
some goal or objectives. Another way of describing a system is to say
that a system comprise of objects that must work in harmony towards
achieving a purpose. A good example of a system is a motor car engine.

The purpose of a motor car engine is to provide mechanical energy for

moving the car. Engineers construct a car engine as a set of mutually
interdependent components or sub-systems which must work in
harmony toward achieving the purpose of the engine whenever the
engine is started. Hence, the engine is provided with an electrical sub-
system, an internal combustion sub-system, a heat-to-mechanical
energy conversion sub-system, a cooling sub-system, the exhaust sub-
system, etc. Moreover, the car engine system itself can be shown to be a
sub-system of a larger system - the motor car system, the latter
comprising the engine sub-system (already described), the transmission
sub-system, the steering sub-system, the braking sub-system, the
electrical wiring subsystem, the passenger seating sub-system, etc. Other
examples of systems are the human body system, the government
system of a country, and economic system of a country, etc.

All systems share the following features:

Goals or objectives: These give direction to the activities of a system. A
system without goals or objectives is likely to perform purposeless
activities, and will eventually collapse as a result of the impossibility of
obtaining resources for sustaining such activities.

Sub-systems: These are the mutually dependent components of a system.

For instance, a human body is a system comprising of the nervous,
respiratory, circulation, digestive and other sub-systems. The engine of a
car is also a system comprising of the combustion, cooling, electrical,
transmission and other systems. Each sub-system of a system can
usually be regarded also as a system comprising other sub-systems, and
so on.

Environment: This comprises all other systems that do not belong to a

particular system, and with which the system shares boundaries. No
system can have all the resources it needs to operate independently of its
environment for ever. The environment serves as a source of resources
required by a system, as well as the destination for output from a system.
A system needs to constantly monitor its environments for new
opportunities for, or threats to, its own survival.

Activities: A system usually must perform some physical activity in

order to achieve its goals and objectives. The activities of a system can
usually be divided into two main types - physical activities, and
communication and information activities. Physical activities are those
that involve physical work, and require physical effort or mechanical
energy to accomplish. An example is the transportation of physical
products or waste materials from one part of a system to another, or the
physical or chemical transformation of raw materials into finished
products.

Products. Communication and information activities are those that

involve the creation, storage, communication, etc., of data and/or
information. All systems need to perform at least some communication
and information activities (e.g., communication of information among
its sub-systems). Communication and information activities are often
undertaken within a system in order to ensure that the sub-systems
synchronize their activities. Communication and information activities
are often also undertaken between a system and its environment.
In other words, information systems provide the settings within which
data and information management activities are performed. These
activities are often grouped into five major kinds (Figure 3.1)

1. Input;
2. Processing;
3. Storage;
4. Output;
5. Communication.
Data input activities involves the inflow (i.e., input) of data to the system
from other systems. This entails the acquisition or capture of data from
the environment.

Data processing activities involves the transformation of data into more

informative data, by aggregating, desegregating, summarizing and
computing the data.

Data storage entails storing the data temporarily or permanently before,

during and after processing.

Data and information output entails sending out processed data and
information from the system to other systems (people, organizations,
communities).

Data and information communication entails the sending and receiving

of data and information among the components of a system, as well as
between the system and other systems in its environment. Data
communication activities are invariably performed in connection with
the input, storage, processing and output activities of
systems.
Environment

Input, Store, Processing, Output and communication

Operations of an information system.

A system often must communicate with its environment in order to

obtain inputs, as well as in order to deliver its outputs. Also, a system
often must also communicate data among its sub-systems in order to
process data, or in order to store and retrieve data from storage. System
communication activities are indicated by the arrows in Figure 3.1.

 Information systems resources for data management

An information system requires resources to perform and sustain its

data management activities. These resources can be grouped into the
following:
1. Data, as raw materials for producing information, and also
sometimes as output;

2. People, such as data collector and data entry clerks, supervisors,

managers, etc.

3. Physical facilities and equipment, such as buildings and offices,

computers, telephone lines, fax machines, etc.

4. Organizational structure and policies, to link and control

interactions between people, facilities, activities, data, etc.

5. Energy, such as electricity to drive the machines, and human energy

and motivation to drive people to work for the system;

 Natural languages for data organization

Individuals usually create data to describe whatever they might know

already, or might have seen, heard, tasted, smelt or touched. In other
words, they create data to express information. Sometimes, they are free
to select and combine symbols that they understand to create the data,
especially when they do not intend to communicate the data and the
associated information to others. For instance, a person might use secret
symbols to express information in a secret diary or map so that no one
else may understand the information implied by the data.

In most cases however, people create data for conveying information to

others. In such instances, an individual has to be careful about what
symbols are used to communicate information. Usually the symbols
must be selected and arranged in a way that others can understand. This
is the rationale for the existence of natural languages such as English,
French, Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba that can be used to create data for
expressing information. In other words, natural languages are the
standard vehicles for social communication within societies.

You will of course be aware that people differ in their ability to

communicate in different languages. In the same manner, people differ
in their abilities to correctly use a particular language to express
information with data. Similarly, people differ in their abilities to
interpret information from data that has been created with a particular
language.

 Natural language symbols, rules and usages

An individual might be described as 'illiterate', meaning that the person

cannot read or write in a particular language. Please note the words in
italics. This is to say that the person cannot read or write in the language.
This is the same as saying that the person does not understand the
symbols or data that are used in the language to express information.
Similarly other persons might be described as 'barely literate’, or 'highly
literate' in a language.

The important point to note is that the ability of an individual to use a

particular language to express information with data, as well as the
ability to interpret information from data in the language depends on
that individual's knowledge of the symbols, rules and usage of the
language.

So, what are the symbols, rules and usages of natural languages?

Natural languages that are written invariably have alphabetic symbols,

which, when combined in various ways can be used to form words and
sentences. In addition, there are also special symbols such as comma,
full stop, question marks, etc. Languages also have rules of spelling,
grammar and punctuation that people are expected to use when using
the language to create data for expressing information. Hence, 'elephant'
can be recognized as a word in English language, but 'elephant' is not.
Similarly, the phrase 'the pot is in the bucket' can be easily interpreted
by a person literate in English language, but not so easily the phrase 'pot
the is the bucket in'.
Of course, the main reason why human societies require that data must
be created in accordance with these rules of language is in order to
reduce or eliminate the chances of misunderstanding between the
creators and interpreters of data. Such misunderstanding might then
lead to differences between the information expressed by creators of
data and the information that interpreters can obtain from the data.

Accordingly, written natural languages often have:

1. Alphabets and other special symbols (e.g. comma), which are the
symbols that can be used for creating and recording data to express
information.

2. Spelling rules that guide how alphabetic symbols may be combined

to form words;

3. Grammar rules that guide how words could be combined to form

sentences;

4. Rules, conventions or styles of structure that guide how sentences

can be strung together to form paragraphs, and how paragraphs can
be arranged when writing for different audiences;
5. Conventions or rules as to the likely meanings that can be implied by
different combinations of symbols, words, etc.

 Scientific and other special languages

People belonging to different cultures often develop different languages

or versions of natural languages. For instance, some people of England
speak, write and understand a type of English language referred to as
"Queen's English”, while people in some parts of Nigeria speak, write
and understand "pidgin English".

In addition, special languages are also sometimes developed by and for

special communities of people, such as scientists, specialized professions,
or for specialized purposes as you will learn later on in this course. For
instance, chemical, biological and medical scientists have developed
various scientific languages for naming various types of objects. Hence,
what is known as 'common salt' in natural English language is referred
to as 'sodium chloride' by the chemists. Similarly, you probably learnt in
your agricultural science class that 'white yam' is referred to as
'dioscorea rotundata' by the biologists.

Hence, the biologists, chemists and other scientists are trained in how to
use such special languages to create data. Of course, such special
languages, just like natural languages, have their peculiar symbols, rules
and usages.

The scientific and cultural disciplines and professions have, overtime

developed and begetted unto mankind the following additional language
symbols, rules and usages:

Numeric symbols (0, 1, 2 ...), as well as rules on how the symbols can be
combined to express quantitative information (e.g., 102.237 or 13.4
metres, or 34 F). Hence, 100 is considered to be exactly ten times larger
than 10, and 10 is considered to be ten times larger than 1.

Pictorial and graphic symbols, such as lines, dots, and the like, that can
be used to create image data, such as maps, cartoons, line graphs,
drawings, paintings, etc. The Chinese and Japanese, for instance use
graphic symbols to represent information.

Conventions as to the best way to arrange numerical and pictorial

symbols in data tables, charts, mathematical formula, maps, dictionaries,
indexes and abstracts, etc.
Conventions as to how to arrange or organize data symbols, such as
words, numbers, pictures, etc., its various formats, such as resumes,
technical reports, application letters, etc.

 Scientific methods for representing quantities

You are of course aware that information about quantities can be

expressed with either words or figures. Hence, 'one hundred and ten'
could also be written as 'I 10'.

Most literate people know about the decimal number and counting
system, which involves the use of the 0, 1 ...9, in various combinations to
express integers (e.g. 1, 23, 567, -12 ...) as well as fractional numbers
(1.237, -12.67, 0.000212). Most people also know how to count in units,
tens, hundredths, and so on.

Scientists have also developed other methods for expressing quantitative

information with data. Firstly, there is the so-called scientific notation
for expressing numbers. Hence, the number '102.23 7' is often expressed
in scientific notation as 1.02237E02.
In case you have forgotten, or had never learnt, about the scientific
notation. This is a short explanation of how scientific numbers are
derived from ordinary numbers.

The scientific notation is derived from a given number by applying the

following two basic rules:

Move the decimal point a number of spaces from its original position in
the given number so that the original number is in the form of a derived
number 'N.NNNN', where the first N before the point is any of the
positive o r negative digits (1,2,3, .....9,-1,-2...-9), and the other N's could
be any positive digit (0, 1, 2...9).

 Applying this rule means that:

Given number Derived number

1234 becomes 1.234;

-456.3 becomes -4.563

12.66 becomes 1.266

0.238 becomes 2.39

0.000987 becomes 9.87

Find the number of times the derived number must be multiplied by ten
to get the original given number. Put another way, find the power of 10
with which the derived number must be multiplied to get the original
given number.

 Applying this second rule, we find that

1.234 must be multiplied by 103 (10 raised to power 3) to obtain the

original number 1234.

Similarly,

-456.3 = -4.563 x 102

12.66 = 1.266 x 101

0.238 = 2.390 x 10-1

0.000987 = 9.870 x 10-4

Note however that another way of saying '10 raised to a certain positive
or negative power' is to say '10 exponent the positive or negative power'.
Hence, the above equations can be rewritten as

-456.3 = -4.563 x 102 = -4.563E+02

12.66 = 1.266 x 10' = 1.266E+01

0.238 = 2.390 x 10-' = 2.390E-01

0.000987 = 9.870 x 10-4 = 9.870E-04

The numbers on the left are decimal numbers expressed in the way
literate people understand, whereas the numbers on the extreme right
are also decimal data, but expressed in scientific notation. In other
words, scientists can choose to create and organize numbers in either
the ordinary way or the scientific way. You should know both ways
because you are learning to become a computer or communication
scientist, or a data manager.

 How data are input and represented in computers

You must have learnt in your GS###: Computer Fundamentals course

that the process of introducing data into a computer system is known as
data input. However, other terms that are often also used are data entry,
or data capture. The opposite of data input is data output. Moreover,
computers process, store and communicate data within and among
themselves.

Data are input to a computer through input equipment or devices

connected to the computer's central processing unit (CPU). Among such
devices are:

1. Keyboard, for entering alphabetical, numerical and special characters;

2. Mouse (for indicating and selecting options from menus displayed
on a computer monitor);

3. Scanners (for taking pictures of paper documents);

4. Digital cameras (for taking photographs of objects); microphones

(for sound and voice), etc.

The input devices perform the task of detecting signals produced by the
action a computer operator, such as the press of a key on the keyboard,
or the movement of a mouse, or the clicking of a digital camera, or the
act of speaking into a microphone. The input devices immediately code
the incoming signals into electrical pulses that are transmitted through
some connecting wires to the CPU.

The inputs devices are designed to transmit sequences of combinations

of high and low electronic pulses. These pulses are what the CPU
understands. In other words, each input device is able to communicate
with the CPU in a language of electronic pulses. In other words, any data
introduced into a computer through an input device, be it the letter 'a'
typed on the keyboard, or a sound received by a microphone, or a picture
taken with a camera, etc., is translated by the input device into some
appropriate combination and sequences of electronic pulses which are
transmitted to the CPU. On receiving the sequence of electronic pulses,
the CPU will then interpret the signals to determine what original signals
the electronic pulses represent, whether an 'a', or a particular sound, or a
particular image.

In other words, the CPU and the input (as well as output) devices use a
common language of electronic pulses to exchange data. Accordingly,
data are represented in computer systems not in the form of natural
language symbols, but in the form of electronic symbols, ie. Electronic
pulses. As noted above, the electronic pulses are of just two kinds, low
and high, and are represented by low and high electrical voltages
respectively.

To recap, CPUs and input and output devices are only able to
understand just two types of symbols, either low or high voltage pulses
or nothing else. By contrast, human beings use a wide variety of symbols
(alphabetical, numerical, special, pictorial, etc.) to express information
with data. It was precisely in order to bridge the gap in the number of
symbols used by humans (many symbols) and computer devices (only
two symbols) that early computer engineers and scientists adopted a
data coding system to be used by computer devices to translate data in
human languages into equivalent data that the devices can understand,
and vice versa.
 The binary number system

You probably learned about the binary number system in high school.
But if you did not, or you have forgotten, here is an introduction.
However, in order to promote your understanding, let us review the
decimal system with which you are very familiar.

The decimal system has ten symbols or digits (0, 1, 2... 9). Hence, to
represent increasingly bigger units of numbers we begin at 0, and count
through 1 to 9, at which point we run out of digits. The next number is
nine plus one, and to represent it we write a 1 and then a 0 to get 10.
What the 10 means is that we now have one of tens and zero of units. We
then continue cycling through the remaining digits again, hence, 11, 12,
and 19. The last number, 19, means one of tens and nine of units. The
next number is then written as 20, meaning 2 tens and zero units. And
so on. Similarly, the next number after 99 is 100, meaning one of
hundreds and zero of units, and 1000 means one of thousands and zero
of units. And so on.

Accordingly, a number such as 1234 actually means one of thousand

plus two of hundreds, plus 3 of tens, and plus 4 of units:
1000

200

30

--------------

1234

--------------

In other words, in the decimal system we count in units, and multiples

of tens

the ten digits of the decimal number system. Another way to say this is
that in the decimal system we count in base 10. This is the familiar
number system that is used to represent, and also add, subtract,
multiply and divide quantities. Of course you learned about this system
as early as in primary school.

Now let us see how rules for representing quantities in the binary
number system is very similar (but not identical) to that of the decimal
number system.
The binary number system has only two symbols or digits, 0 and 1.
Hence, to represent increasingly bigger units of numbers we begin at 0,
and then 1, at which point we run out of digits. The next number is one
plus one, and to represent it we write a 1 and then a 0 to get 10. Note
however, what the 10 here means is that we now have one of and zero of
units. The next number will the be 11, that is one of and one of units.
Thereafter, the next number will be 100, meaning one of fours and zero
of twos and zeros of units. We then continue counting 101, and then 111.
The next number will be 1000, meaning one of eights, zero of fours, zero
of twos and zero of units. Next will be 1001, 1011, 1111, 10000, 10001.
Now, what is the meaning of the last number? It means one of sixteens,
zero of eights, zero of fours, zero of twos and one of units.

In other words, in the binary number system we count in units, and

multiples of twos - the two digits of the binary number system. Another
way to say this is that in the binary system we count in base 2.

This is the way the binary number system is built up, from zero numbers
to very large numbers. Hence, a binary number such as 1001010 can be
decomposed as

1 of 64’s = 26 = (i.e., 2 raised to power 6)

0 of 32’s = 25 = (i.e., 2 raised to power 5)

0 of 16’s = 24 = (i.e., 2 raised to power 4)

 1 of 8's = 23 = (i.e., 2 raised to power 3)

0 of 4's = 22 = (i.e., 2 raised to power 2)

1 of 2’s = 21 = (i.e., 2 raised to power 1)

0 of l’s = 20 = (i.e., 2 raised to power 0)

 Addition and subtraction of binary numbers

Binary numbers can be added, subtracted, multiplied and divided, and

the procedures are very similar to that used for decimal numbers.
Consider for example, the following addition:

11000

111
-----------

11000

-----------

The procedure is that we begin the addition from the right most column.
Addition one and one gives one of twos and zero of units. Hence, we
write 0 under the column and carry over one of twos to the next column
to the left. The process is repeated until the addition is complete.

Procedures similar to those used in subtracting, multiplying and

dividing decimal numbers are used for subtracting, multiplying and
dividing binary numbers.

 Converting between decimal and binary numbers

You know already that in the decimal system, numbers are counted
from zero upwards, in units, tens, hundreds, thousands' and so on.
Hence the first twenty numbers, as well as a few other selected numbers
are shown in Table 5.1

Table 5.1: Equivalence between some decimal and binary

numbers

Decimal number Binary number equivalent

0 0

1 1

2 10
 3 11

4 100

5 101

6 110

7 111

8 1000

9 1001

10 1011

16 10000

20 10100

30 11110

32 100000

64 1000000

99 1100011

100 1100100

128 10000000

What you learn is how to covert decimal numbers to binary

numbers, and vice versa.

 Conversion of decimal numbers to binary

The procedure is illustrated with the following example. Given a decimal
number 235:

235 (in decimal) =

1 of 128 (or 1 of 2') +

1 of 64 (or 1 of 26) +

1 of 3 2 (or 1 of 2') +

0 of 16 (or 0 of 2') +

1 of 8 (or 1 of 2') +

0 of 4 (or 0 of 22) +

1 of 2 (or 1 of 2') +

1 of 1 (or 1 of 2°).

Thereafter add up the binary number equivalent of each line on the right
of the equation, hence:

10000000 +

1000000 +

100000 +

00000 +

1000 +
+
+
--------------

11101011 (in binary)

--------------

In other words, the procedure is:

Find the highest power of two that can be taken from the given decimal
number with a remainder (zero is a remainder).

Find the next lower multiples or powers of two, which can be taken from
the remainder in step (i);

Repeat step (ü) until you cycle through all the multiples or powers of
two lower than that found in step (i);

Add up the binary number equivalents of the different powers of two

obtained from steps (i) to (iii).

 Re-arranging data

In the last unit we noted that data are symbols that have been used to
describe one or more entities. The data could be just one word, say
'elephant', or a set of words or numbers, such as 'An elephant is a very
big animal, indeed the biggest land animal. It has tusks, and eats grasses.
You also learned that data can also be defined, created and collected in
separately meaningful portions. In particular, you learned how data are
sometimes organized into data tables, data records and data fields.

Let us now look more closely at one such data (Table 7.4), which shows
the sales of medicines recorded in a register by a sales clerk (Table 7.4).
The data are provided as records and fields. How many data records and
data fields are there? There are eight records and six fields respectively.

Table 7.4: Medicine sales register

Date Purchaser Product Quantity Price Value

03/04/02 K. Ahmed Panadol 50 3.00 150.00

03/04/02 J. John Aspirin 10 12.00 120.00

04/04/02 P. Uche MIM Capsules 1 650.00 650.00

04/04/02 A. Zabu Ace Shampoo 1 300.00 300.00

04/04/02 A. Aina Cough syrup 1 250.00 250.00

05/05/02 T. Akpan MIM Capsules 1 650.00 650.00

05/05/02 M. Johnson Ampicillin 2 125.00 250.00

05/05/02 1). Yusuf l'ZT Ampules 10 500.00 5,000.00

You will observe that the data in the table are in the natural time order,
that is, in the order in which the purchases were made, and in which the
data were created.

However, we might want to re-order the records in several other ways as

follows:

By the reverse order of the date on which the purchase was made, i.e.,
the reverse of the natural time order.

By the numerical order of the price of the product, or of the quantity

purchased, or of the value of the purchase. The numerical order could
also be ascending or descending.

By the alphabetical order of the surnames of the purchasers, or by the

alphabetical order of the product names. The order could also be in
ascending (ie. from a to z) or descending (ie., from z to a). Table 7.5
shows the same records arranged in the ascending order o the names of
the purchasers.

By portions of data, such as the initials of the purchasers, or the month

of the sale.
Let us now compare the data in Tables 7.5 and 7.5. In table 7.4, we note
that the data record for K. Ahmed's purchase is just before the record or
J. John's purchase. This is simply because the two purchases occurred
next to each other in time. However, in the re-arranged records in Table
7.5, the two records are now further apart. Although, we have the same
set of records, their positions in the table have changed. Similarly, re-
arranging the data in the reverse time order or in the numerical order of
quantities, prices and values of the purchases will give a different
arrangement of the records. In order words, data can often be
manipulated and re-arranged in an order that suits our purpose. This is
another way of saying that data can often be structured or re-arranged
for different purposes.

Table 7.5: Medicine sales register re-arranged

Date Purchaser Product Quantity Price Value

03/04/02 K. Ahmed Panadol 50 3.00 150.00

04/04/02. A. Aina Cough syrup 1 250.00 250.00

05/05/02 T. Akpan MINI Capsules 1 650.00 650.00

03/04/02 .1. John Aspirin 10 12.00 120.00

05/05/02 M. Johnson Ampicillin 2 125.00 250.00

04/04/02 P. Uche MIM Capsules 1 650.00 650.00

05/05/02 D. Yusuf TZT Ampules 10 500.00 5,000.00

04/04/02 A. Zabu Ace Shampoo 1 300.00 300.00

The alphabetical and numerical orders of arranging data records are well
known by literate people. Hence, words in dictionaries are usually
arranged in alphabetical order, and so also are the words in a book index.
Library catalogues are also often arranged in t he alphabetical order of
titles or subjects of the books in the library, and so on. Such alphabetical
arrangement of data or of data records often aids human understanding
of the data or records. Hence, the following arrangement of the names of
seven cities, such as:

Abuja, Accra, Berlin, Lagos, London, New York, etc.

Will be more logical, alphabetically speaking, than an arrangement like

the following:

Accra, New York, Abuja, Berlin, Lagos, London.

Although the latter arrangement might be useful for some purpose, the
purpose is not clear. Is it clear to you? Now when you encounter such an
arrangement you probably will initially try to understand why the data
are arranged in that way. However, if you cannot understand, you
become less sure about what meaning the person who arranged the
names of the cities wanted you to obtain from such an unusual
arrangement.
 Data modeling and data models

An important idea that we stressed in the preceding section is that data

can be organized in different ways for different purposes. In order words,
data can be structured, arranged or modelled in different ways for
different purpose.

A specific arrangement or grouping of data or data records is usually

referred to as a 'view' or 'model' of the data, or a data model. Tables 8.1
and 8.2 show two different ways of arranging the records on the sales of
the medicines. In other words, they are different 'models' or 'views' of
the data records. One might also create different views or models of the
data for different purposes. In other words, a data model is the way one
might organize the data records in a given situation. It is the method of
imposing a meaningful or logical structure on data or records. As noted
already, the same set of data may be modelled in different ways for
different meaningful purposes.

Suppose now that we have created the following data to describe the
different living things:

And non-living things

Father', 'cat', dog', ‘house’, jackal’,

'child', forest', 'owl'

One way to model the data is to arrange them alphabetically. You also
probably tried to relate each word to the others as you read through
them. But people might disagree on how best to relate the words or data.
One person might think and argue that father, cat, dog, house, child - are
'closely' related because they describe things that can be found in a home.

However, another person might disagree, arguing instead that the five
words should be classified into the following three distinct groups: father,
child (because they are human and members of a family); cat, dog
(because they are both domestic animals who dislike each other); house
(because it is the only non-living object). Furthermore, whereas
someone might say that forest, jackal and owl, should be grouped
together because both jackal and owl live in forests, another person may
argue that dog and jackal should be grouped together because they have
similar features. Everyone will probably be partly right, just like the
proverbial six blind men who went to 'see' (pardon me, touch) an
elephant.

The reason for the differences in the ways that they categorize, classify
or group the words (the data) is that they are viewing, structuring or
modelling the data in different ways. Each of the different groupings of
the data will be appropriate for some occasions and inappropriate for
others. In other words, data can often be categorized or modelled
differently for different purposes.
 Types of data structures or models

There are two main approaches to grouping or categorizing data or data

records in order facilitate human machine processing and
understanding. These are the hierarchical, and the network.

 Hierarchical data structures/models

A hierarchical data model is one whereby data records are grouped or

interrelated in terms of being super-ordinate or subordinate to one
another.

For instance, suppose that we have data on one grandmother, three

fathers, two mothers and six children. Let us represent the data on these
people as

G1, F1, F2, MI, M2, C1, C2, C3, C4, C5, C6

An obvious way to categorize the data is to group then as follows:

G I FI, F2 M1, M2
CI, C2, C3, C4, C5, C6
Suppose however that we know that some of the fathers, mothers and
children are related biologically. We can then use this knowledge to
structure the data differently as follow

C1 C2 C3 C4 C5 C6
This last grouping and linking of the data records is what is known as the
hierarchical method of modelling data. In other words, a parent-child
hierarchy is established among the data. Hence, data record G1 is the
parent of data records Fl and M1; In turn data record F1 is the parent of
data record C1, whereas data record MI is the parent of data records C2,
C3, and C4. And so on.

The idea behind linking data or data records in a hierarchy is that, once
they are so linked, we can get to the data for a child from the data of the
father or mother.

Another everyday example is as follows. We know that there are

countries, and within each country states or provinces, and within each
state or province, there are towns. Finally, within each town there are
streets. So let us assume that we have the following data or data records:

"Nigeria", "Ghana"; "England", "St James's Street"; "Accra"; 'Plot 12",

"Ibadan" "London", "High Street"; "Salvation Army Road".

Firstly, we may want to regard each piece of data as separate data in its
own right. We can then go on to arrange the data alphabetically, as
explained above. However, we can go further to first group them into
meaningful or useful categories, and then arrange the data in each
category hierarchically from smallest place to largest place, as follows:
 Plot 12

Salvation Army Road St James's Street High Street

Ibadan London Accra

Nigeria England Ghana

Of course, these are how addresses are usually written - from the
smallest place to the largest place. In other words, the addresses we
often see on envelopes are actually inverse hierarchical arrangements of
data, comprising the name of a person, who is living in a particular
house, on a particular street, in a particular town, in a particular country,
of the world. In fact, data on people and places in the world can be
arranged in a huge hierarchy beginning with data on the world, then
data on individual countries, then data on cities, towns and villages in
the countries, then data on streets in the cities, towns and villages, then
data on houses on the streets, and finally data on persons in the houses.

 Data collection

Data collection is often undertaken by a system or organization during

laboratory or field studies. A laboratory study is done in the laboratory,
such as a medical laboratory. Field studies are done by archaeologists or
geologists when they dig the ground to discover old civilizations or rocks,
by geographers and surveyors when they survey a region, and by social
scientists when they interview people or give them questionnaires to
complete.

Different data collection methods and instruments are used for data
collection. The major methods are direct observation, interviews, and
the administration of forms and questionnaires. You have probably used
or heard about some of the common instruments that are used by
natural scientists and technologists for collecting data in laboratories or
workshops, including calipers, scales, thermometers, voltmeters, etc. But
there are numerous other more sophisticated instruments. For example,
ultrasound equipment is used by medical scientists and technologists to
collect data about parts of a human body. X-ray equipment is also used
to obtain images of objects. The reason for these instruments is that
science and scientists aim for precise ways of measuring and recording
data about variables and constants. Hence, more accurate and
sophisticated instruments continue to be invented.

 Data collection activities and instruments

As explained in section 9.6 above, data collection is often undertaken by

a system or organization through laboratory and field studies.

Data collection entails four stages of activities:

Defining what data to collect. This involves deciding the things to be
measured, say the weight of some sick children, the temperature of some
liquid, the amount of time spent on some jobs, the prices of goods in a
market, the performance of students in a subject, etc. Each of the things
that we have underlined above can vary depending on the children,
liquid, jobs, goods, students, etc. Hence, they are known as variables. In
other words, to collect data, one must first determine the variables on
which data will be collected. As explained in earlier units of this course,
the data to be collected will depend first on the data and information
policy of the organization or system, and secondly, on the types of
information to be produced with the data.

Selecting or designing the instrument or device to use for collecting the

data. An instrument is chosen for measuring the variables if a standard
one already exists. Examples of standard instruments are scales,
thermometers, tape rules, rain gauges, calipers, etc. However, a new
instrument may be designed if no suitable one exists. Remember also
that an instrument may be a physical or mechanical device like a
thermometer or a scale. But it can also be in the form of a questionnaire
or test. For example, questionnaires are usually designed for collecting
data from people about their opinions on different issues. Their opinions
are the variables, and the questionnaire is the instrument. Also, tests or
examinations may also be administered on students to measure their
level of knowledge in a subject. Their Level of knowledge is the variable
and the test or examination is the instrument.
Using the instrument of device correctly to measure the variables. The
instrument that has been chosen or designed for the data collection is
used to measure the variable. This is often not as simple as you may
think. Using an instrument correctly requires knowledge and experience
of the instrument, as well as the variable to be measured.

A person who is not experienced in the use of an instrument is unlikely

to use the instrument correctly and consistently. This applies to both
physical or mechanical instruments as well as questionnaires and tests.
An inexperienced person may measure a distance with a tape rule thrice
and still get a different result each time. The question then is which
result is the correct one. Similarly, a well designed questionnaire may be
administered very poorly or inconsistently, leading to incorrect or
inconsistent data. Also, students may perform poorly in an examination
not because the examination is too difficult for their level, but because
the examination was conducted in abnormal situations, such as a poorly
ventilated examination hall! The result of such an examination may
therefore not correctly assess the level of knowledge of different students.
In a nutshell, the accuracy or validity of data being collected with an
instrument depends on how well the instrument is used to collect the
data.

 What is data quality control?

Data quality control refers to the processes and methods by which the
accuracy, validity and reliability of data is ensured at the different stages
of the data management cycle. (The data management cycle was first
explained in Unit 2). The aim of data quality control is to ensure t hat the
data that are created or collected, stored, processed, communicated and
used by an information system meets the system's minimum standards
of quality.

Data quality is usually described or expressed in terms of such variables

are accuracy, validity, adequacy, and so on. Hence, data are often
described as valid or invalid, accurate or inaccurate, adequate or
inadequate, reliable or unreliable, structured or unstructured, etc.

Data quality control aims to ensure that data are accurate, valid and
reliable. Each information system will often specify and work toward
achieving acceptable standards of data accuracy, validity and reliability.
To achieve this, information systems usually use different strategies and
methods for ensuring the quality of their data.

Three words have so far been used repeatedly - accuracy, validity and
reliability. You may now be wondering what these words mean. So let
me explain them.

 Accuracy of data
Before I explain the meaning of data accuracy, you should recall from
Units I and 8 that data are symbols that have been used to describe or
express information about one or more entities. Entities could be
persons, objects, events, ideas, or even the attributes of the persons,
objects, events, ideas, etc. A word 'variable' is often also used to describe
an entity that varies from one situation to another, say the marks
obtained by different students in a course, or the names of some children.

Data accuracy refers to the preciseness or exactness with which data

describes or expresses information about an entity.

Suppose for instance, that a thrown stone actually hits a man on the
nose, but a witness says that "the stone hit the man in the face". Of
course, a face includes the nose, so the witness is not telling a lie.
However, by mentioning 'a face' instead of 'a nose' the witness is not
being precise or exact. Hence, the data "the stone hit the victim in the
face" is not a very accurate description of the incident, although it is true.
Such imprecise data may be deemed adequately accurate or inaccurate
for different purposes.

 Validity of data

Data validity refers to the extent to which a set of data expresses

accurate and true information about an entity. In other words, data
validity requires that (i) the data are accurately measured and recorded,
and (ii) that the data conveys true information about the entity
described by the data.

We will explain the data validity with three examples.

Firstly, suppose that the following data is created to express information

about the two persons:

'Abu is older than John'

The data will be considered valid if Abu is actually or truly older than
John. Conversely, the data will not be valid if Abu is not actually or truly
older than John. In other words, data that expresses untrue information
about an entity is invalid as far as that particular entity is concerned.

For the second example, suppose that a person actually eats bean stew
once every week. If the person, in response to a question, says 'four
times per month', the data may not be valid. This is because 'four times
per month' does not convey the same information as 'once per week'. A
person who eats beans stew once per week actually eats it regularly once
every seven days. However, a person who eats the food four times per
month might eat the food on four consecutive days in a month, or in
other sequence of four days different from 'once per week'. This second
example illustrates the fact that the validity of data decreases as the data
becomes less and less accurate.

 Accuracy and reliability of instruments

The discussion in the preceding section highlighted the importance of

using appropriate instruments correctly to measure and record data.
However, the instrument itself must be accurate and reliable. In other
words, an instrument must, when used correctly, be able to do what had
been designed to do accurately and reliably.

 Accuracy of data collection instruments

A data collection instrument is considered accurate if it can be used to

measure a variable with little or no error. Suppose that the true weight
of a truck is 2.34 tons. A new weighing instrument will be considered
accurate if it reports the weight of the truck exactly or with negligible
error. In order to determine the accuracy of the new instrument, the true
weight would have been established previously using a well-tested or
standard instrument or method. Similarly, a new questionnaire might be
subjected to an accuracy test by using it to collect data that is already
known. For instance, a question in a questionnaire might be used to ask
for the date of birth of some students, although their dates of birth have
been obtained from other sources. That question (which can be
considered as a sub instrument of the questionnaire instrument) will be
considered a highly accurate instrument if the dates supplied by the
students in response to the question are exactly the same as, or very
close, to their true dates of birth.

 Reliability of data collection instruments

A data collection instrument will be considered reliable if it reports the

same data every time it is used to mention the same thing. Hence, the
new weighing instrument measure in the above example will be
considered reliable if it reports a weight of exactly or very close to 2.34
tons for the truck each and every time it is used.

You will recall from the previous unit that instruments for measuring
and recording data include not only physical or mechanical instruments
such as tape rules, weight scales and voltmeters, but also social survey
questionnaires and educational achievement tests. In other words,
questionnaires and tests can also be described as accurate/inaccurate
and/or reliable/unreliable. Hence, a question in a questionnaire that
asks respondents about when they usually wake up in the morning will
be considered to be a very reliable instrument if each respondent
provides the same time waking time each and every time the question is
asked. Also, a whole questionnaire will be considered to be highly
reliable if more or less the same data can be collected with the
questionnaire each time it is used. Finally, an examination test in a
subject will be considered to be a reliable instrument for determining
the achievement of students in that subject only if the student’s
performance will be more or less be the same if they do the test on two
or more occasions.

 Data collection instruments and procedures

The qualities of data are affected by the quality of the instruments that
are used to measure, record or create data. Secondly, a good instrument
used in a wrong manner often also leads to data of low quality. Thirdly,
low data quality can result from errors made in recording the data that
has been measured with a good instrument. Finally, errors can also arise
when data are copied or transferred from one medium (say, paper) to
another medium (say, paper or computer). In other words, quality
instruments and procedures are required to ensure that quality data are
created or collected.

 Data quality control before, during and after

Data quality control can be performed before, during and after data are
collected. As explained above, one of the main tasks in planning for data
collection is to design effective data collection instruments and
procedures. Data quality can be controlled before data are actually
collected by implementing strategies for producing valid, accurate and
reliable data collection instruments and procedures. Planned and pre-
tested instruments and procedures are more likely to generate good
quality data than unplanned and untested instruments. Strategies for
controlling data quality before data are collected are explained in section
11.5.

Data quality can also be controlled during data collection by ensuring

that the instruments and procedures are used consistently as had been
designed. Good instruments and procedures may still not generate good
quality data if not properly used. This is particularly true when humans
are required to use the instruments and procedures to collect data.
Humans are prone to boredom, inconsistency and error. Different
people might use an instrument differently, thereby collecting different
and probably incompatible data. Moreover, even the same person might
use an instrument differently at different times, thereby also leading to
incompatible data. Strategies for controlling data quality during data
collection are explained in section 11.6.

Finally, data quality can be controlled after data had been collected by
cross checking the data for errors. This can be done by humans and/or
machines. Strategies for controlling data quality after data are created or
collected are explained in section 11.7.

 Data quality control before data are collected

We explained in the previous unit that a good data collection instrument

must be both accurate and reliable. This often requires repeated testing
and improvement of an instrument until it meets minimum standards of
accuracy and reliability. Manufacturers of mechanical and electronic
instruments invariably test each manufactured instrument for accuracy
and reliability. And only those that pass their quality control tests are
sold to the world.

Designers of questionnaires, instrument and examination tests often

also subject them to accuracy, reliability and validity checks. They do
this in different ways, including:

Ensuring that there are no confusing, embarrassing or annoying words

or questions in each questionnaire or form. Confusing or embarrassing
or annoying words or questions can cause respondents to provide false
or inaccurate data unknowingly. Annoying questions can cause them to
refuse to provide any data.

Asking respondents for the same information with differently worded

questions at different points in a questionnaire and finding out whether
the data provided are consistent or almost the same. The more similar or
consistent the data provided in response to the different questions, the
more likely that the data are true, accurate and valid.

Asking the same respondents to answer the same questionnaire at two

different occasions, say one month apart, and finding out whether the
data provided at the different occasions are consistent or almost the
same. The more consistent or similar the data the more reliable is the
questionnaire.
Ensuring that examination tests are neither too simple not too difficult
for the intended candidates. An examination that is too difficult will be
failed by most candidates including many brilliant ones. Hence, the
examination will not provide good results or data for separating poor
from good candidates. Conversely, an examination that is too easy will
be passed by almost every candidate. Hence, the results also cannot be
used to separate poor from good candidates. In other words, the results
or data from examination questions that are too easy or too difficult will
not be expressing true information about the candidates. Hence the data
will not be valid.

 Data storage media

Information systems store data in the following major types of media:

human brains, paper, microforms, computer media, and audio and
video tapes and CDs.
 Human brain

The human brain was used to store data and information long before paper
was invented. However, the human brain provides a store not only for data,
but also knowledge.

You will recall from Unit l that knowledge is the extent of familiarity
possessed by a person with certain facts, truths, principles or subjects.
Knowledge consists of facts, truths and ideas that fit together to form a
coherent and meaningful whole. A person's overall knowledge influences
how he perceives the world around him. In other words, knowledge is used
by people to interpret and evaluate new information. Knowledge serves as a
pool from which people can extract specific truths, facts, ideas for
informing or instructing other people. Data are stored in human brains as
part of knowledge. Data are also created from a person's knowledge when
the person uses symbols to express information extracted from the
knowledge.

Nobody knows for sure how data and knowledge are organized and stored
in the human brain. Psychologists claim however that human beings store
data in either short-term or long-term memory. Data in short term
memories are stored for a short time, and are lost unless committed to long
term memory. Among the strategies used by people to store data in long
term memory is to say, read or write the data repeatedly. Is this not how
you commit data to memory? If not, how do you do it? There are of course
many other methods which we cannot explain here.

 Paper

Paper became a media for storing data when papyrus was invented. Data
were initially stored on paper by writing long hand until printing was
invented. Data are still mostly recorded on paper in the form of published
or unpublished, as well as printed, typed and hand-written documents.
Among the well known paper-based data and information sources are
books, newspapers, journals, technical reports, correspondence, etc.

 Microforms

Microforms is the general word used to describe all miniature but non-
computerized storage media such as film rolls, film slides, microfiche, etc.
Data are stored in these media as miniature or microscopic images, hence,
the name microforms. The data are stored on such media by photographing
or scanning pages of paper or computer documents, and then transferring
the images unto film rolls, film slides or microfiche. The major advantage of
microforms is that they require much less space to store than paper.
However, special equipment such as reading glasses or lens, film projectors,
microfiche readers, etc, are required to access the data in these media.

 Computer media
Data are increasingly being stored on computer media. Computer media
include tapes, disks, diskettes, compact disks (CDs), smart cards, mobile
phone recharge cards, etc. Data are stored on computer media as data files.
A data file on a computer media is any collection of data stored under a
single name. The data might comprise alphabetical, numerical or special
characters, or digitized images. (You may review Unit 5 for explanation on
how computers store digitized images). The data in the file may also be
subdivided into data records and fields, as you learned in Units 7 and 8.

 Audio and video media

The gramophone record was a popular media for storing sound data before
the arrival of audio and video tapes and CDs. Tapes and CDs are now used
for storing sound, image and voice data. You most probably had listened to
a Michael Jackson tape or CD before, but tapes and CDs are now used as
media for publishing books, dictionaries and encyclopedias. Indeed, some
of the study materials in some of your NOU courses might be provided on
audio or video tapes or CDs.

 Importance of data to organizations

Organizations and information systems create and collect data and

information as part of their day-today operations. For example, banks
collect data daily on the payment and withdrawals of cash by their
customers. Universities, colleges and schools collect data from their
student’s year in and out. Traders create and collect data when they record
data about their purchases and sales. All organizations also acquire or
create data when they receive or write letters to other organizations and
people.

Let us now focus on just one organization, say the National Open
University of Nigeria. To function properly, the university will need to
collect, store and process data on many types of entities, including its
employees, equipment, buildings, vehicles, activities, sales and purchases,
projects, letters received, letters dispatched, office files, students, courses,
examinations, graduation ceremonies, student associations, books in the
libraries, study centres, tutors, tutorials, etc.

Now, notice that each type of entity is in the plural, meaning that for each
type of entity there will be many instances or members of that entity. For
example, there will be many employees, students, examinations, study
centres, etc.

 Why a database?

Data on each of the entities that were listed for the university in the
previous section will invariably accumulate over time. As the years pass by,
the volume of data collected and accumulated on each entity by the
university will increase. Now, unless the university finds a way of
organizing and storing the data, the data will grow into a mass of
unorganized data from which it will be difficult or impossible to find
specific data. If that happens the university will not be able to locate, say,
data on specific students who graduated some years previously. What do
you think will happen then? One possibility is that some people might
claim that they graduated from the university, and the university will find it
very difficult or impossible to confirm their claims.

This is the reason why the data created and collected by an organization,
and which often accumulate over time, must be properly organized for
storage and retrieval. Before computers became popular most organizations
created, collected and stored data in paper documents - registers, forms,
sheets, letters, printed reports, hand written memos, etc. Organizations
also created office files, file cabinets and record centres for managing the
data in paper documents. Eventually, paper files became too voluminous
and demanded expensive storage space. So organizations used microfilm
and other types of microforms to store some of the data, particularly those
not needed frequently. They did this by filming their documents and
keeping the images on the microforms.

 What is a database?

A database is as a set of computerized and linked files that have been

created with a database management system for storing the data of an
organization or information system.
As explained earlier, different types of computer software create different
types of files on computer media. Although some of the files may be
grouped into folders, the data in them are often not linked to the data in
other files. Data in such 'stand-alone' files are usually difficult to link up for
use together. By contrast, a database management system (DBMS) is
designed to facilitate the creation and linking of files so that the files can be
used together and at the same time. The files that are created and linked by
the DBMS form a database.

Secondly, a DBMS is designed to create a particular kind of data file known

as the data table. A data table is used for storing data on different entities in
the form of records (rows) and fields (columns), as was explained in Unit 7.
A separate data table is created for each entity. Hence, assuming that we
want to create a database to store the data of the university mentioned
above, an 'Employees' table will be created for storing data on employees,
and a 'Students' table will be created for storing data on students. Similarly,
other tables will be created for storing data on the equipment, buildings,
vehicles, activities, etc., of the university.

Your review of Unit 7 will have refreshed you with the following facts:

Each row of data in a table contains data on each instance or member on

entity. Each row of data is also known as a data record. Hence, there will be
as many rows or records as are members of an entity. In other words, if
there are 10,000 books in the library for which the 'Books' table (Table 13.1)
was created, there will be 10,000 records of data in the table once the data
on all books have been stored in the table.

Each record of data is subdivided into separately meaningful portions

known as data fields, and the names or labels of the fields are provided as
the column headings. Each column or field contains data on the same
attribute of each member of the entity. Hence, there will be 10 columns or
fields if data were collected and stored on ten different attributes of each
member of the entity. (There are only six fields in the books table of Table
13.1).

 Software for creating and managing databases

Different database management software or systems have been developed

for creating and storing data in databases. Among them are: Microsoft
Access, dBase V for Windows, Visual FoxPro, Paradox, Oracle, DB2, etc.
These DBMS can be used for creating databases to store different types of
data - textual, numeric, image, etc. In addition, there are also a number of
other database management software that are specially designed for
creating and storing mostly textual data, such as the descriptions of
documents and abstracts, as well as full-text documents. Examples of such
software are Inmagic and Reference Manager. Another example is Micro
CDSASIS for Windows which is distributed free to non-profit
organizations by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization (UNESCO). Micro CDSASIS is used by many libraries and
information centres in developing countries.
 A few more database concepts

You have already learned about the concepts of database, DBMS, and data
tables, records, and fields. You now need to understand a few more.

 Form:

This refers to a pre-defined format for entering data into one or more data
tables in a database. A DBMS can usually be used to design and display a
form on the computer screen to enable data to be entered into the records
of the table. For example, shown in Table 13.2 is a form that may be
designed and used to enter data into records of the table in Table 13.1. Such
a form can be used to enter data for each book, or to display the data for
each book.

 View:

A view is a pre-defined way of viewing or displaying some or all the records

and fields in a data table. A DBMS can be used to define and display
different views of stored data on the computer monitor. For instance, Table
13.3 shows two different views of the data in Table 13.1. The first view
shows only the data on the authors and titles of the books. That is, it shows
the data in only two of the fields. The second view shows the title, year, and
subject of only the books whose subject is 'Languages'. Many other views of
the data can be pre-defined and displayed with a DBMS and stored in the
database along with the tables. Pre-defined views are also stored in the
database.

 Query:

A query is a statement that instructs a DBMS to find and display from a

database all data that meet some criteria. An example of such a statement
is:

Display from the Books table the author and title of books published by
'ABC Publishers'.

You will note that a query comprises three main parts, as broken down
below:

Display from the Books table

The author and title of books
Published by 'ABC Publishers'.

The first line is the command to the DBMS telling it to display data from
the books table. The second line indicates the fields to be displayed. Finally,
the third line specifies the criteria or condition to be used by the DBMS to
determine whether a record should be displayed. Queries are sometimes
pre-defined and stored in the database.

 Conclusion

Database management systems are the most important software to data

organization and management because they can be used by organizations
and information systems to organize their data for storage and retrieval on
computer media. Although other software can be used to create, process
and store data, they often cannot be used to organize and link all the data of
an organization or information system. Database management systems can
be used to create databases containing data tables, forms, queries and
reports, as well as to link the data tables with files created with other
software.

Database management systems can be used to manage all types of data -

textual, numeric, image and sound - that might have been created with
other types of software. They can also be used to organize and store data
collected in different contexts - in laboratories, field surveys, schools,
businesses, etc. Accordingly, learning how to use at least one database
management system is critical skill that you should possess as an
information or data manager or computer scientist. We will teach you a few
basic ideas about how to use DBMS in the next unit
 Common tasks in creating and using databases

Database management systems can be used to perform a large number of

data management tasks. You will learn about five of the most common
tasks in this unit. The five tasks are:

1. Creating a database.
2. Creating data tables.
3. Updating records in data tables.
4. Sorting the records in the tables.
5. Creating and using indexes to tables.
6. Displaying records and fields from tables.

 Creating a database

Creating a database is the first task that you must perform when you begin
to use a DBMS to create and manage a database. The database is created
initially as an empty or blank container into which tables, queries, forms,
reports, etc. will be stored or saved.

Hence, the process of creating the database is very simple: you only need to
tell the DBMS three things: the type of database to be created, the name
you want to call the database (i.e., file name of the database), and where (ie.,
in which folder) the database should be stored on a computer media.
 Creating data tables

This entails two tasks:

1. Designing the record structure of a table, usually on paper; and

2. Using a DBMS to create and save the designed record structure in the
database.

3. Designing the record structure of a table

4. The record structure of a table is determined by the nature of the data

fields that comprise each record in the table.

Designing the record structure of a table requires careful planning. Firstly,

recall from the previous unit that you need to create a table in the database
for each different entity - students, employees, purchases, etc., - for which
data are to be stored.

Secondly, recall that for each entity you need to determine the different
attributes for which data will be stored, so that appropriate fields can be
created in the corresponding table.
Now, and thirdly, for each field that you decide to include in the table for an
entity, you need to determine its:

Field name;
Field type; and

Field width.

Field name (or Field label) refers to the name, label or heading for a field.
A field name should be one that reveals the type of data stored in the field
(e.g., 'Birth date' if the field is to contain the birth dates of people).

Field type (or Data type) refers to the type of data that can validly be
entered into the field. Field types include:

Character (or Text): for a field that will contain different types of characters
- alphabetical, numeric, special.

Number (or Numeric): for a field that will contain only numbers.

Date: for a field that will contain dates, such as birth dates, dates of
appointments, or dates of sales.
Yes/No (or Logical): for a field that will contain either 'Yes' or 'No' data, or
'True' or 'False' data. For example, if a field of a table is named 'Passed
English', valid data for the field will be 'Yes' or 'No'.

Field width (or Field size): refers to the amount of character spaces that will
be provided for entering data in the field. An alphabetical character or a
numeric digit occupies one character space each. Hence, if you specify a
field width of 10 for a field named 'Surname', the DBMS will allow you to
enter only ten characters for each surname in the field. Of course, for such a
small field width, you will run into space problems if you must enter long
surnames, such as 'Abiola-Thompson', in the field. The 10 spaces will be
enough for entering only 'Abiola-Tho'. On the other hand, you will be
wasting storage space on computer media if you specify an unnecessarily
large field width for field.

 Updating a data table

Updating is the word used to describe the process of adding, modifying or

deleting data in a table. In other words, updating a table may entail (i)
creating and adding new records to a table; (ü) changing the data in
existing records; and (iii) deleting existing records.

Data entry into a table can be performed only after the table's record
structure had been defined and saved in the database. Data entry may be
performed as the data becomes available, for example, as a new applicant
submits an application letter or a completed application form. Often the
data are entered in batches of say, ten or fifty records at a time. The data
might also be scanned into the records of a table using various computer
input devices, such as scanner, cameras, microphone, etc.

DBMS software usually provides a form on the computer screen that can be
used to enter data into the records of a table. Data are keyed or scanned
into the form much like the manner one would complete a paper form. The
software often also provides automatic checking of the data as they are
keyed in. For example, if a data entry clerk attempted to enter alphabetical
data in a field that is expected to contain only numeric data, the computer
would beep a warning and reject the data.

 Sorting records in a table

This task involves the rearrangement of the records in a data table in

accordance with a specified criterion. For example, the records in a table
containing data on visitors to a building will normally be the order of the
date and time visitors enter the building. This is the natural time order.
However, a DBMS could be instructed to sort or re-arrange the records in
the alphabetical order of the names of visitors, or in the alphabetical order
of the names of the persons visited. Similarly, the records in a table
containing data on applicants could be sorted in the ascending order of the
surnames of the applicants, or in the order of their ages, etc.
You learned about views of a data table in the previous unit (in section 13.7).
To refresh your memory, a view is a way of displaying some or all the
records and fields in a data table. Accordingly, each different sorting of the
records in a data table is a different view of the table.

 Creating and using indexes to data tables

A DBMS invariably has a facility for creating indexes to records in a data

table. An index to the data in a table is similar to an index at the end of a
textbook. In the same way as a reader of a textbook uses the book index to
find quickly specific names, subjects or words in the book, a DBMS also
creates and uses indexes to quickly find specific records in a table. DBMS
usually use data in the primary key field to create what is known as a
primary key index. However, data in the other fields of a table can often
also be used to create other indexes.

The DBMS usually arrange the records in a table automatically in the order
of the data in the primary key field. For example, if 'Student Number' is the
primary key field of a table, the records in the table will be automatically
arranged in order of student numbers any time records are added to,
modified in, or deleted, from the table.

 Displaying data records and fields

After data are entered into the records of a table, the DBMS can be used to
display the records.

Records can usually be displayed in two ways: the datasheet method and
the form method. In the datasheet method, the DBMS uses the table format
to display the records, that is, in the form of rows and columns of data. As
many of the records and fields can fit into a display window are displayed at
a time, and scroll bars and cursor keys can be used to display more records
or fields as desired. In the form method, the one record is displayed at a
time and in a form, as shown in Table 14.3

 Conclusion

Creating and using databases is a key aspect of data organization and

management. The reason is that all types of data often must be organized
and stored temporarily and permanently .Such data can be stored in both
computer and non computer (e.g. paper) media .However, computer
databases provide a platform for structuring data into tables, records and
fields, and for creating different queries, view, forms, reports, e.t.c, for
updating, displaying and printing the data in the tables.

 Context of information retrieval

Information retrieval is the process by which a person searches through a
data store for some data or information. Note that the data store could be a
textbook, a newspaper, a book index, a library catalogue, a telephone
directory or a computer database. Note also that the person performing the
search could be the one who created the data store, or someone else. In
other words, data and information retrieval is the reverse of data and
information storage.

Data and information retrieval enables information searchers to find,

evaluate and use the data or information that data and information creators
had created and stored in different types of storage media. Data and
information creators include authors and editors (who write or edit books,
reports, newspapers, etc), book indexers and cataloguers who create book
indexes and catalogues, and database designers, operators and managers
who create and update computer databases. Data and information creators
often work within information systems. On the other hand, information
searchers include readers of the books, newspapers and reports, and people
who search databases for data and information.

Data and information retrieval provides a meeting point between data and
information, and also between data and information creators and
information searchers. On the one hand, people create data to express
information. Such data are invariably recorded, organized and stored on
paper, computer and other media using different kinds of strategies. For
example, data are usually organized in textbooks into chapters, sections,
sub-sections and paragraphs. Tables of contents and indexes are also
provided. Data are often also organized into the tables of a database, with
each table organized into records and fields. On the other hand, are
information searchers who want specific data or information to use for
various purposes, and are willing to search for information from various
media and data stores. The important question is whether searchers will be
able to obtain the data and information that they need by searching the
appropriate data stores.

 Information retrieval from textbooks

We will now introduce a few information retrieval concepts by describing

the processes of information retrieval from a data store. Let us do this by
describing the process involved in the retrieval of information from a
textbook. Now, how do people search for and retrieve information from
textbooks? What strategies and procedures do you yourself often use to find
information from textbooks?

In order to search for, and retrieve information from a textbook you are
most likely to go through the following process:

 Describe the information you want

You will, first of all, need to determine and describe the type of information
that you want to find from the textbook. This may be a particular single
word or phrase, paragraph, table, or any useful information on a topic or
subject. You will then describe what you are looking with some data, such
as water yam, or Chapter two, or Figure 2.3 or politics and corruption in
Nigeria. In information retrieval, what you want to find from a data store,
and which you describe with data (such as water yam), is referred to as
your search term.

 Determine where and how you will search

You can search for information in a textbook in different ways .One

method is to leaf through the textbook page by page until; luckily, you
stumble on a page containing the data or information that you want.
However, you are more likely, to use any of the search aids or search tools
provided in the textbook .The table of contents and the book index are two
standard search tools in this respect. Search tools are invariably created to
assist information searchers. You will note also that the table of contents is
organized in the order of chapter numbers, and that the book index is
organized in alphabetical order of important words or phrases in the
textbook.

 Determine your search criteria

Let us assume that you have decided to search for your search term in
the index .However, you still need to make up your mind as to how

you will decide if a word or phrase in the index matches your search
term. You might be looking for words or phrases in index that match

your search term exactly, or you might be interested in words or

phrases data that are approximately close to your search term in either

appearance or meaning .In information retrieval, this is referred to as

your search criteria. Your search criteria is the condition that must be

met before you will accept that a word or phase in index is likely to

lead you to useful data and information in the textbook. For instance,

suppose you are looking for information on ‘White Ya m’. That

is your search term. Your search criteria might then be any one of

The following:

I am looking for a set of data (word or phrase) that is:

Exactly ‘White Yam’;

’White Yam’, or ‘any other type of yam’;

’White Yam or any root crop’.

Notice that the first of the above criteria is most specific, followed by
second. The third criteria is the least specific. The more specific your search
criteria, the lower will be your chances of finding words or phrase that can
satisfy the criteria. Conversely, the less specific your search criteria, the
higher will be your chances of finding words or phases that satisfy the
criteria. For instance, if (c) was your search criteria, you will accept and
follow up on the following words when you come across them in the index:
Yam, White yam, coco-yam, potato, cassava, and carrot.

 Perform the search in the data store

In this step, you will use both your search criteria to browse through the
index .You will do this by inspecting words and phrases in the index ,and
then deciding for each word whether it satisfies your search criteria . Of
course, being a human being, you might miss some words or phrase as you
browse. You might also change your search term or search criteria as you
browse. If you are lucky, you will find words or phrases that satisfy your
search criteria. You will then note the page numbers corresponding to the
words or phrases that you have found .Finally, you will refer to the various
pages in the textbook, and locate where the words or phrase occur in the
page

 Evaluate the data that you have found

Next, you will assess or evaluate the data and information that you have
found on the various pages. You do this usually by noting and evaluating
the other words, phrases and sentences associated with your search term in
the textbook. For example, suppose your search term is 'white yam', and
you have found it in a particular paragraph of the textbook. You will usually
read the paragraph, as well as other nearby paragraphs toward gaining
information about your search term.
 Importance of data to organizations

Organizations and information systems create and collect data and

information as part of their day-today operations. For example, banks
collect data daily on the payment and withdrawals of cash by their
customers. Universities, colleges and schools collect data from their
student’s year in and out. Traders create and collect data when they record
data about their purchases and sales. All organizations also acquire or
create data when they receive or write letters to other organizations and
people.

Let us now focus on just one organization, say the National Open
University of Nigeria. To function properly, the university will need to
collect, store and process data on many types of entities, including its
employees, equipment, buildings, vehicles, activities, sales and purchases,
projects, letters received, letters dispatched, office files, students, courses,
examinations, graduation ceremonies, student associations, books in the
libraries, study centres, tutors, tutorials, etc.

Now, notice that each type of entity is in the plural, meaning that for each
type of entity there will be many instances or members of that entity. For
example, there will be many employees, students, examinations, study
centres, etc.
 Updating a data table

Updating is the word used to describe the process of adding, modifying or

deleting data in a table. In other words, updating a table may entail (i)
creating and adding new records to a table; (ü) changing the data in
existing records; and (iii) deleting existing records.

Data entry into a table can be performed only after the table's record
structure had been defined and saved in the database. Data entry may be
performed as the data becomes available, for example, as a new applicant
submits an application letter or a completed application form. Often the
data are entered in batches of say, ten or fifty records at a time. The data
might also be scanned into the records of a table using various computer
input devices, such as scanner, cameras, microphone, etc.

DBMS software usually provides a form on the computer screen that can be
used to enter data into the records of a table. Data are keyed or scanned
into the form much like the manner one would complete a paper form. The
software often also provides automatic checking of the data as they are
keyed in. For example, if a data entry clerk attempted to enter alphabetical
data in a field that is expected to contain only numeric data, the computer
would beep a warning and reject the data.

 Sorting records in a table

This task involves the rearrangement of the records in a data table in
accordance with a specified criterion. For example, the records in a table
containing data on visitors to a building will normally be the order of the
date and time visitors enter the building. This is the natural time order.
However, a DBMS could be instructed to sort or re-arrange the records in
the alphabetical order of the names of visitors, or in the alphabetical order
of the names of the persons visited. Similarly, the records in a table
containing data on applicants could be sorted in the ascending order of the
surnames of the applicants, or in the order of their ages, etc.

You learned about views of a data table in the previous unit (in section 13.7).
To refresh your memory, a view is a way of displaying some or all the
records and fields in a data table. Accordingly, each different sorting of the
records in a data table is a different view of the table.

 Creating and using indexes to data tables

A DBMS invariably has a facility for creating indexes to records in a data

table. An index to the data in a table is similar to an index at the end of a
textbook. In the same way as a reader of a textbook uses the book index to
find quickly specific names, subjects or words in the book, a DBMS also
creates and uses indexes to quickly find specific records in a table. DBMS
usually use data in the primary key field to create what is known as a
primary key index. However, data in the other fields of a table can often
also be used to create other indexes.

The DBMS usually arrange the records in a table automatically in the order
of the data in the primary key field. For example, if 'Student Number' is the
primary key field of a table, the records in the table will be automatically
arranged in order of student numbers any time records are added to,
modified in, or deleted, from the table.

 Displaying data records and fields

After data are entered into the records of a table, the DBMS can be used to
display the records.

Records can usually be displayed in two ways: the datasheet method and
the form method. In the datasheet method, the DBMS uses the table format
to display the records, that is, in the form of rows and columns of data. As
many of the records and fields can fit into a display window are displayed at
a time, and scroll bars and cursor keys can be used to display more records
or fields as desired. In the form method, the one record is displayed at a
time and in a form, as shown in Table 14.3

 Conclusion
Creating and using databases is a key aspect of data organization and
management. The reason is that all types of data often must be organized
and stored temporarily and permanently .Such data can be stored in both
computer and non computer (e.g. paper) media .However, computer
databases provide a platform for structuring data into tables, records and
fields, and for creating different queries, view, forms, reports, e.t.c, for
updating, displaying and printing the data in the tables.

 Context of information retrieval

Information retrieval is the process by which a person searches through a

data store for some data or information. Note that the data store could be a
textbook, a newspaper, a book index, a library catalogue, a telephone
directory or a computer database. Note also that the person performing the
search could be the one who created the data store, or someone else. In
other words, data and information retrieval is the reverse of data and
information storage.

Data and information retrieval enables information searchers to find,

evaluate and use the data or information that data and information creators
had created and stored in different types of storage media. Data and
information creators include authors and editors (who write or edit books,
reports, newspapers, etc), book indexers and cataloguers who create book
indexes and catalogues, and database designers, operators and managers
who create and update computer databases. Data and information creators
often work within information systems. On the other hand, information
searchers include readers of the books, newspapers and reports, and people
who search databases for data and information.

Data and information retrieval provides a meeting point between data and
information, and also between data and information creators and
information searchers. On the one hand, people create data to express
information. Such data are invariably recorded, organized and stored on
paper, computer and other media using different kinds of strategies. For
example, data are usually organized in textbooks into chapters, sections,
sub-sections and paragraphs.

Tables of contents and indexes are also provided. Data are often also
organized into the tables of a database, with each table organized into
records and fields. On the other hand, are information searchers who want
specific data or information to use for various purposes, and are willing to
search for information from various media and data stores. The important
question is whether searchers will be able to obtain the data and
information that they need by searching the appropriate data stores.