Data
Data is a set of values of qualitative or quantitative variables; restated, pieces of data are individual pieces of information.
Data is measured, collected and reported, and analyzed, whereupon it can be visualized using graphs or images.
Data as a general concept refers to the fact that some existing information or knowledge is represented or coded in some form suitable for better usage or processing.
Raw data, i.e., unprocessed data, refers to a collection of numbers, characters and is a relative term; data processing commonly occurs by stages, and the "processed data" from one stage may be considered the "raw data" of the next.
Field data refers to raw data that is collected in an uncontrolled in situ environment.
Experimental data refers to data that is generated within the context of a scientific investigation by observation and recording.
The word "data" used to be considered the plural of "datum", and still is by some English speakers. Nowadays, though, "data" is most commonly used in the singular, as a mass noun (like "sand" or "rain").
