Dictionary Series: What do we mean when we talk about data?
Our organisational title is the ‘Data for Children Collaborative with UNICEF’ (thank you lawyers for that mouthful) but “Data” means a lot of different things to a lot of different people. Our Director was talking about her job to a Primary 5 class this week (aged 9 and 10 year olds) during their careers week and it got her to thinking – do we all have a consistent understanding of what we mean by “data”?
What do we mean when we talk about data?
Our vision statement of ‘Using Data Responsible to Improve Outcomes for Every Child’, clearly means that ‘data’ is a key factor in us delivering what we say we’re going to do.
Looking across our portfolio of projects, we cover a lot of basis in the sphere of data. We work with satellite imagery, household survey data, chatbot text content, climate scenarios to list but a few. We also do a lot of work on data about data, which some might call metadata (and others definitely do not call it that).
Ultimately, when we think about what comes within the scope of a project that would suit our remit, our definition of “data” is; information, in whatever form that might come in. In turn, our definition of “data science” is; the process of turning information into insight.
When a classroom of 9 and 10 year olds were asked what they understood about the word “data” a number of hands were raised.
One said, “it’s what’s on your phone that means you can play games or watch YouTube”. While someone else said, “is it basically maths?” and then another said, “is it information that’s held on a computer?”
This is a great set of responses from the next generation on what “data” is, and what struck me is how differently I might have answered that question when I was 10 and whether the answer to the same question will change in another 30 years’ time.
How has this definition changed over time?
Believe it or not, others before DCC have made their own dictionaries. According to the Merriam-Webster website, their definition of “data” is;
1: factual information (such as measurements or statistics) used as a basis for reasoning, discussion, or calculation
2: information in digital form that can be transmitted or processed
3: information output by a sensing device or organ that includes both useful and irrelevant or redundant information and must be processed to be meaningful
And the DCC dictionary is certainly not arguing with that definition!
On doing a little digging, apparently the first English use of the word "data" is from the 1640s. The word "data" was first used to mean "transmissible and storable computer information" in 1946, according to Wikipedia.
These days though, “data” is part of everyone’s lives.
“Data” is now even referred to as its own industry or sector (although some would argue it is neither). Companies have Chief Data Officers at executive level. There could be an case to say it would be more meaningful for these roles to be called Chief Insight Officer, with the implication that the data was actually being put to good use for the organisation.
Data is like oil. And I’m not intending that sentence in the way that Clive Humby said it in 2006. I mean data is like oil in that; it comes in many forms, some of which are incredibly complex; it can be mixed with other data to create something new; and it can spill with devastating consequences.
We all, individually, organisationally, societally, need to treat data carefully. We need to question when and how we use it. But I’m at risk of crossing into our Ethics Dictionary entry now.
What is our data used for in practice?
We look at data in the context of Data for Good, therefore we think about what information exists that give us insights that can change policy or practice for the wellbeing of children across the world. When presented with a new challenge that subject matter experts think can be best answered with data, we always take a pause to check that data is indeed the best way to answer the question. And maybe is not the obvious data that’s the answer. Maybe we need new data in the form of youth engagement outputs. Or maybe we need bring data together for the first time to gain some insight.
The phrase data-driven is often used in relation to decision-making. Effectively, meaning that decisions should be made based on information. Our role is to support those making decisions on policy or programming context for children by providing them with insights from the most appropriate information available.
We have tried to help define what we mean when we talk about ‘Data’ in this article. We would like to caveat that we are in no way responsible for how you to choose to pronounce ‘data’!
