Let’s begin with an example. Suppose you have to write an article on the conservation of trees. What would be your first step?

In all probabilities, you will first look up for the statistics, facts, descriptions, images, graphs, etc., and read as much as you can about the said topic.

After you are done with this, you’d think what all is worth converting into a presentable analysis about the given topic and write your article accordingly.

So according to this example, what you searched, collected, and read in fragmented form, and bits and pieces is what is called “data”, while what you wrote after filtering the data is “information”.

difference-in-data-and-information-letsdiskuss

Data is derived from the Latin word “Datum” which means “something given”, while information is derived from the Latin term “Informare”, meaning “give form to”.

By this, we understand that the raw, unrefined and unprocessed details in the form of facts, statistics, descriptions, and pictures is data, while the refined and filtered form of this data is information. In this regard, information is the processed from of data, and data is a set of unprocessed details.

There can be a doubt on the usability of data but an information is always useful because it has been analyzed, filtered, and processed. While data does not depend on information, information just can’t come into existence without data. Apart from this, information is always specific and to the point, unlike data.