Understanding Data and

Information Systems
Difference between Data and Information
Data Information

Raw and unprocessed: Data is in its original form and has Processed and interpreted: Information is the result of
not been organized or analyzed. processing, organizing, and analyzing data to extract
meaningful insights.
Objective: Data is objective, representing facts or Contextualized: Information is presented within a specific
observations without any interpretation or value judgment. context that gives it relevance and significance.

Contextually neutral: Data does not have any inherent Subjective: Information can be subjective as it involves
meaning or significance until it is processed and interpreted interpretation, analysis, and the application of knowledge or
within a specific context. expertise.

Low level of organization: Data can be organized in basic Higher level of organization: Information is organized and
structures like tables, files, or lists, but it lacks any structured in a way that makes it easier to understand and
meaningful structure or relationships. use.
Provides understanding and knowledge: Information
Represents observations: Data represents individual provides insights, explanations, and answers to questions,
observations or discrete pieces of information. enabling decision-making and communication.
The Levels of Data
Enterprise Data & Big Data
Organization-wide data assets and extremely large datasets

Data Warehouse & Data Mart

Specialized databases for analysis and reporting

Database & File

Collections of related records and tables

Record & Field

Collections of related fields and attributes

Byte & Bit

Fundamental units of storage and information

In the field of data management, data is categorized into different levels based on its abstraction and complexity. These levels of data provide a
hierarchical structure to understand and manage data effectively, from the smallest unit (bit) to the most complex (big data).
Users of Database Systems
Data Analysts & Business Analysts
Scientists
Gather and analyze
Application Extract, analyze, and data for making End Users
Developers derive insights from informed business
Interact with
Database large volumes of decisions
Build software database systems to
Administrators data
applications that perform specific
interact with tasks or access Executives &
Responsible for
databases information Decision-Makers
overall management,
maintenance, and Access information
performance of for strategic
database systems decision-making
Examples of Data vs Information
Data Examples Information Examples
• A list of customer names and email addresses • A report summarizing sales trends and patterns
• Sensor readings from a weather station over the past year

• • Weather forecast for the next week based on

Sales figures for a particular product
historical data and current conditions
• Temperature measurements at different time intervals
• Customer segmentation analysis to identify target
markets
• Statistical analysis of survey responses to draw
conclusions

In summary, data is raw, unprocessed facts or observations, while information is the result of processing and
analyzing data to derive meaning and context. Data represents individual pieces of information, while information
provides knowledge and understanding. Data requires interpretation and analysis to become meaningful
information that can be used for decision-making and communication.
How to Draw an ER Diagram
Identify Entities Define Entity Attributes Determine Relationships
Identify the entities that you want For each entity, identify and define Identify the relationships between
to represent in the ER diagram. the attributes or properties that the entities. Relationships define
Entities are the objects or concepts describe it. Attributes are the the associations and dependencies
about which you want to store data. characteristics or data elements between entities. Determine the
For example, in a university system, associated with an entity. For type of relationship, such as one-to-
entities could include Student, example, attributes of the Student one, one-to-many, or many-to-
Course, Faculty, and Department. entity could include StudentID, many.
Name, Age, and GPA.

Define Relationship Cardinality Draw the Diagram

Specify the cardinality of each relationship. Cardinality Draw entity boxes, add attributes, connect with
indicates the number of instances or occurrences of one relationship lines, and finalize the diagram to ensure it
entity that can be associated with another entity. accurately represents the relationships, entities, and
Common cardinality notations include "1" for one attributes.
occurrence and "M" for many occurrences.
Converting ER Model to Relational Database Model
Identify Entities and Attributes
Identify the entities in the ER model and represent them as tables in the relational model. Each entity becomes a table, and each attribute of the entity
becomes a column in the table. Primary keys should be assigned to uniquely identify each row in the table.

Define Relationships
Identify the relationships between entities in the ER model and represent them in the relational model. Relationships can be categorized into three types:
one-to-one, one-to-many, and many-to-many. These relationships can be represented using different techniques in the relational model, such as foreign
keys and join tables.

Resolve Many-to-Many Relationships

Many-to-many relationships require an additional step because they cannot be directly represented in a relational model. To resolve a many-to-many
relationship, create a new table, known as a join table or associative table, that connects the two related entities. The join table includes foreign keys that
reference the primary keys of the related entities.

Handle Cardinality and Modality

Cardinality refers to the number of instances or occurrences of one entity that can be associated with another entity. Modality refers to the minimum and
maximum number of associations between entities. These aspects need to be considered while designing the relational model and defining constraints,
such as primary key constraints and foreign key constraints.

Normalize the Relational Model

Normalize the relational model to eliminate redundancy and improve data integrity. Apply normalization techniques, such as the first, second, and third
normal forms (1NF, 2NF, and 3NF), to ensure that the tables are organized efficiently and data dependencies are properly represented.
Additional Resources for Database Design
ER Diagram Representation ER Diagram in DBMS DBMS Generalization
Aggregation
https:// https://www.simplilearn.com/
www.tutorialspoint.com/ tutorials/sql-tutorial/er- https://
dbms/ diagram-in-dbms www.tutorialspoint.com/
er_diagram_representation.ht dbms/
m dbms_generalization_aggregat

How to Draw an Entity- Mapping from ER Model ion.htm

ER Model to Relational Model
Relationship Diagram to Relational Model
https://
https://www.gliffy.com/blog/ https:// www.tutorialspoint.com/
how-to-draw-an-entity- www.geeksforgeeks.org/ dbms/
relationship-diagram mapping-from-er-model-to- er_model_to_relational_model.
relational-model/ htm

Convert ER Diagram to Relational Schema

https://www.gatevidyalay.com/tag/convert-er-diagram-to-relational-schema/