player but there was no music to play. Imagine opening a web browser but there were no web pages. Without data, hardware and software are not very useful! Data is the third component of an information system. Data, Information, and Knowledge There have been many definitions and theories about data, information, and knowledge. The three terms are often used interchangeably, although they are distinct in nature. We define and illustrate the three terms from the perspective of information systems.
Knowledge
Information
Data
Data are the raw facts, and may be devoid of context or intent. For example, a sales order of computers is a piece of data. Data can be quantitative or qualitative. Quantitative data is numeric, the result of a measurement, count, or some other mathematical calculation. Qualitative data is descriptive. “Ruby Red,” the color of a 2013 Ford Focus, is an example of qualitative data. A number can be qualitative too: if I tell you my favorite number is 5, that is qualitative data because it is descriptive, not the result of a Information Systems for Business and Beyond (2019) pg. 66
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