Big data and Social Science

2.1 What is data? (Wikipedia)

Data: “refers to the fact that some existing information or knowledge is represented or coded in some form suitable for better usage or processing” (general concept) (Wikipedia contributors 2018)
Raw data (unprocessed data): “collection of numbers or characters before it has been ‘cleaned’ and corrected by researchers” (Wikipedia contributors 2018)
Data processing: “commonly occurs by stages, and the ‘processed data’ from one stage may be considered the ‘raw data’ of the next stage”
- Collection → Processing → Cleaning → Analyzing
Field data: “raw data that is collected in an uncontrolled ‘in situ’ environment”
Experimental data: “data that is generated within the context of a scientific investigation by observation and recording”