Comparison chart
| Data | Information | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | Data is raw, unorganized facts that need to be processed. Data can be something simple and seemingly random and useless until it is organized. | When data is processed, organized, structured or presented in a given context so as to make it useful, it is called information. |
| Example | Each student's test score is one piece of data. | The average score of a class or of the entire school is information that can be derived from the given data. |
| Etymology | "Data" comes from a singular Latin word, datum, which originally meant "something given." Its early usage dates back to the 1600s. Over time "data" has become the plural of datum. | "Information" is an older word that dates back to the 1300s and has Old French and Middle English origins. It has always referred to "the act of informing, " usually in regard to education, instruction, or other knowledge communication. |
