Data and Databases

Takoradi International School – ICT – compiled by Mr Annan 1

A definition of data
Data is words, numbers, dates, images, sounds
etc without context.
This is a list of data items: 42, rabbits, 16:00, 76,
apples, 09743245530, £40, seaside

Data items need to be part of a structure, such

as a sentence, in order to give them meaning.

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A definition of information
Information is a collection of words, numbers, dates, images,
sounds etc put into context, ie to give them meaning.

For example, take these data items from the previous page:
42 , rabbits, 16:00, 76, apples, 09743245530, £40, seaside
When used to form part of a sentence they gain meaning:
there are 42 apples in that box and each one of them has been
nibbled by rabbits
the fare to the seaside is £40 and the journey takes 76 minutes by
rail
my telephone number is 09743245530, call me at 16:00.

This is information - data put into context.

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The difference between data, information and knowledge
It’s easy to get confused between the three. This is how they differ:
Data is a value with no obvious meaning, e.g. 9.
Information is data with meaning, eg the average man’s shoe size is
9.
Knowledge is making use of information, eg I’m opening a shoe
shop, I should stock plenty of size 9 shoes for men.

Data isn’t just numbers. Someone’s name, address and favourite

colour are all examples of data.

Data, information and knowledge

Data is processed by computers, the resulting information can then
be used to form judgements and make predictions

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 Searching information on computers and
the Internet
Effective searching
• When searching a large database or the
internet, a query will most likely return millions
of results. Use more keywords to improve
accuracy and to reduce a high volume of results.
• Most search engines have advanced search
options which help you narrow down the results
even further. Search engines try to make sense
of your query. A query contains keywords that relate to what
you’re looking for.

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Boolean operators
• The most common Boolean operators are
AND, OR and NOT (always in capitals). They
can be used to get more accurate search
results.

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AND
• The words 'black' and 'shoes' will return results that
contain the words 'black' and/or 'shoes'. You may get
results that contain only one of the two words, eg ‘purple
shoes for sale’ or ‘black T-shirts for sale’.
• In general, search engines treat the query ‘black shoes’ as
‘black AND shoes’ - which means results must contain
both words, eg ‘black shiny shoes for sale’.
• Sometimes you have to add AND to get results that
contain both words. This won’t guarantee that the words
will appear next to each other, only that both words will
be present in results, eg ‘black T-shirts and purple shoes
for sale’.
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OR
• Use OR to request an alternative, for example
‘black OR white shoes’. Most search engines
would interpret this as ‘black OR white AND
shoes’.
• NOT
• NOT tells a search engine what to ignore. The
query ‘shoes NOT brown’ will return results that
contain the word shoes but NOT the word
brown. Some search engines use a minus sign in
front of the word instead of NOT, eg -brown.
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Quotation marks
• Although not strictly a Boolean operator,
quotation marks can be used to get more
accurate results. For example, use “black
shoes” to get results where the words ‘black’
and ‘shoes’ appear together, eg ‘black shoes
for sale’. By doing this, the result ‘black T-shirts
and purple shoes for sale’ will not be
returned.

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Quality of information on the Internet
• It is important to check the accuracy of your search
results. Anyone can publish information to the internet,
eg Wikipedia is an online encyclopedia that anyone can
edit. It contains lots of useful information but users can’t
rely on its accuracy. It is good practice to check whether
the information on the internet is:
• accurate
• up to date
• unbiased, telling the whole story
• from a trusted source, eg health information from NHS
Direct
• confirmed by other reliable websites or sources
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 Database uses
• Microsoft Office Access is a popular database
package but there are alternatives such as
OpenOffice Base.
• Databases are widely used. Schools, the NHS,
supermarkets, Facebook, Google and YouTube
all make use of databases. Any company or
organisation that stores large amounts of data
almost certainly stores it in a database

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The service providers and companies mentioned above use
their databases to:
• send letters or emails to employees, clients or customers
• manage appointments
• track the products customers buy
• serve adverts based on what a user searches for
• suggest related videos, depending on videos a user has
already watched
• know which friends two individuals have in common

Your school probably keeps track of the most popular dishes

on the canteen menu so that it always has enough to serve
to students.
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Databases vs. paper
• Databases can store huge amounts of data
without taking up any space in the real world.
• It is much quicker to query or search a
database than it is to riffle through hundreds
or even thousands of paper records.

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Advantages of using a database
• It’s easy to add to or amend existing records.
• Data can be sorted easily, eg date first registered.
• Other applications can import data, for example
mail-merge templates make use of databases to
send personalised letters to customers.
• Multiple people can access a database at the
same time.
• Security can be better than paper files, eg using a
password to view or edit a file.

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Storing data in tables
• Databases store data in tables. Tables are
made up of fields and records.
• A table consists of related records, eg
criminals, and a record consists of related
fields.

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Creating a table
• To create a table in Microsoft Office Access,
use Design view. Start by writing a list of
sensible field names, eg ‘Crime’ would be a
better field name than ‘Act of questionable
judgement’ because ‘Crime’ is short and to
the point

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Data types
Access will automatically choose a field’s data type
based on the data entered. For example, if a phone
number is entered into a field its data type will be
automatically set to 'Number'. Other data types
include:
• 'text' (alphanumeric) – writing
• 'date/time' – date or time
• 'currency' – euro, pound, dollar, etc
• 'autonumber' – number increases by one each time
• 'yes/no' – only yes or no can be entered

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Setting a primary key
• The primary key is a field that contains data
that is unique for each record.
A car dealership may use a car's registration or
number plate as a primary field to set apart two
cars of the same colour, make and model.

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What is a Record?
The set of data associated with a
single object or person is known
as a record.
Field and Field Name
• The field is the box that you
would write in a table
• The field name is the label next
to the box in a table
• The data is what you
would write in the box in a
table
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Foreign key
• When a key field from one table appears in
a different table (e.g. the Class field in the
Student table), we call this a foreign key.

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Validation rules
Data is validated or checked to see if it meets certain rules when entered into a
field. It cannot be checked for accuracy. For example, a validation rule may only
allow mobile phone numbers that are 11 digits long, but the mobile number itself
could be wrong.

• Field length check – only allows a specific number of characters to be entered.

• Range check – number entered must be within a certain range, eg between 1-

100.

• List check – only specific data can be entered, eg male or female.

• Present check – the field cannot be left empty.

• Input mask – data must be entered in a specific way, eg including a space

between the first and last part of a postcode.

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• Running queries
Databases can hold huge amounts of data. Queries find
specific data based on set criteria.
• Forms and reports
Tables and queries are great for entering and finding
data. But it’s easier to enter data using forms and
present it using reports.
• Forms
Forms make entering data into a database simple.
• Reports
Reports present data clearly, so that they are easy to
read.
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