Forum: english.stackexchange.com
Tags: <word-choice><differences><nouns>
Title: What is more appropriate, "data" or "information" when referring to facts about something. What's the difference really?
Question: The Computer Studies teacher quipped, "There is a lot of data out there regarding HTML programming".  What does this really mean? Will it make any difference if the teacher had used "information" in place of "data"?

Answers:
sents: text: I would actually suggest that in this particular case, he probably should have used information rather than data .
text: Data is typically used when you're referring to "raw information", e.g. metrics that have been collected, but without any sort of analysis.
text: Since in this case, he presumably means references or guides to HTML programming rather than, e.g., studies on the effect of HTML programming on the economy where data has been collected on the actual programming of HTML
text: , I'm not sure what sorts of things would qualify as 'data'.
text: Perhaps tables of information in reference form or some such could be considered data, but I'm not sure why he'd limit his quip to just that sort of information.
text: More likely to my mind is that as a CS professor, he frequently deals with actual data and the frequent usage biases his word choice in cases like this.
answer_details: author: english.stackexchange.com/users/2007/Dusty
score: 9
sents: text: It depends on the context.
text: Typically-speaking, information would have been the correct term, as you are referring to general bodies of knowledge on a subject.
text: Data , on the other hand, typically refers to specific and isolated facts on a subject.
text: You'd find information on how to program in HTML, but data on how many people have jobs where they program using HTML.
answer_details: author: english.stackexchange.com/users/3918/Shaun
score: 5
sents: text: Information could be considered more appropriate.
text: Data can refer to the results of scientific experiments, or, especially nowadays, information stored digitally.
text: For the latter reason, data could be considered fine for your example, because there is a lot data (i.e. information stored digitally, e.g. online) regarding HTML programming, itself a 'digital' subject.
text: If he was talking about, say, how to cook chicken, it would sound a bit wrong:
text: There is a lot of data out there about how to roast a chicken.
answer_details: author: english.stackexchange.com/users/None/
score: 2
sents: text: If the teacher had said "information", it would imply confidence in the usefulness and correctness of the material to be found.
text: By saying "data", there is the implication that much of the material may not be all that good, and possibly that it isn't easy to tell the difference.
text: Information = Data - Noise
text: Or perhaps I'm reading too much into what might be a casual remark by someone who uses the word "data" more often than many speakers.
answer_details: author: english.stackexchange.com/users/305/Brian Hooper
score: 2
sents: text: Data in my mind is statistical in nature, information can be conversational.
answer_details: author: english.stackexchange.com/users/4202/Mebigfatguy
score: 1
sents: text: "Information," in my opinion, is a term that lends itself to being more "digestible" than the term "data." In other words, I would say that the sentence should have been "There is a lot of information out there regarding HTML.
text: " Data can be considered more "raw."
answer_details: author: english.stackexchange.com/users/2780/Joel Salisbury
score: 0
sents: text: Information is usually the set of things that can be known about a subject or concept (except when it is used in the precise technical sense in physics where it is associated with the amount of order there is in a system).
text: Data (plural of Datum) originally meant a set of measurements about something.
text: So the correct answer is "information" - although there has been some blurring of meaning over the years.
text: For instance - most "Data Sheet"s should probably be "Information Sheet"s :)
text: The name originally came from the documentation of the actual, measured performance of a component (thus data).
answer_details: author: english.stackexchange.com/users/None/
score: 0
sents: text: The statement doesn't present data or information about HTML programming, but is about that data or information, so a reasonable interpretation is possible for either concept.
text: I like “data are facts, information is data in a context”.
text: So the statement as is could mean there are lots of facts available, e.g. size of that job market, effectiveness of that programming language, etc.
text: If 'information' were used instead, I would interpret that to mean I should be able to achieve some purpose – most likely to learn how to write in HTML, but also perhaps to understand why it exists, how it differs from other languages and so on.
text: Being that the speaker was a computer studies specialist, it's also conceivable s/
text: he was being humorous (or nostalgic).
text: Long ago, computers were called data processors.
answer_details: author: english.stackexchange.com/users/19715/Skip Lumley
score: 0

Summary of the answers:
One possible differentiation between "data" and "information" is to say that "data are facts; information is data in a context". In this particular case, the word "information" could be considered more appropriate. However, data can refer to results of scientific experiments or "raw information" and as such a reasonable interpretation is possible for either concept in this particular sentence.
Some suggest "information" would be the correct word in this context, as data can be the result of an experiment or relating to "raw data". "Information" here references a general body of knowledge and is a term easier to "digest. Data can refer to the results of scientific experiments, but also nowadays, information stored digitally.  It usually refers to "raw information" and is considered by some to represent something statistical. However, over time blurring of lines has occurred for example a "Data Sheet" could be also an "Information Sheet". Some believe here that the choice often relates to context.
One possible differentiation between "data" and "information" is to say that "data are facts; information is data in a context". In this particular case, the word "information" could be considered more appropriate. However, data can refer to results of scientific experiments or "raw information" and as such a reasonable interpretation is possible for either concept in this particular sentence.
Data has more of a connotation of raw information or statistics, while information is often more associated with processed data and knowledge.
"Information" would imply confidence in the usefulness and correctness of the material to be found. "Data", gives the  implication that much of the material may not be good. Some say that “data are facts, and information is data in a context”.
Which term is most appropriate will depend on the context, but in this case, the most appropriate term is probably "information". Information is considered to be the set of facts about the a subject and is considered to be useful, whereas data is considered to be simply a set of measurements. This could be best summed up as "data are facts, information is data in a context".