[BUS312] 2 - Obtain the Data

Aggregated data

individual data points that have been combined into subtotals, such as counts, sums, or averages

Big data

data sets that are too large and complex for businesses' existing systems to capture, store, manage, and analyze

Categorical data

data that have been divided into groups represented by either descriptive labels (words) or numerical codes that have no inherent numerical meaning, such as classifying a group of people by age (adult vs non-adult), labeling transaction types (sales vs returns), or specifying inventory costing method (FIFO, LIFO, average cost)

Centralized database

an integrated database that contains all of a company's internal structured data in one location

Clean function

a computer function that cleanses data of nonprintable characters but does not impact white space

Data completeness

occurs when data were extracted fully from their original source

Data dictionary

a centralized repository of information about data containing a separate record for each field/variable in the database, often detailing the data type and describing additional variables in the database

Data ethics

the moral responsibility associated with gathering, using, and protecting personally identifiable information

Data integrity

the combined accuracy, validity, and consistency of data stored and used over time

Data warehouse

a repository that allows a large amount of structured data to be integrated for reporting and data analysis

Data wrangling

the process of transforming raw data into a usable format for analysis

Enterprise resource planning (ERP) system or enterprise

type of business management software that integrates applications from throughout the business (such as manufacturing, accounting, finance, and human resources) into one system

ETL (Extract, Transform, and Load)

the process of preparing data for analysis

External data

data that are housed outside a company; may require effort and money to access

Fields

the columns that contain descriptive characteristics about the observations in a table; also called attributes or variables

Foreign key

a field or attribute that exists in a relational database to create a lookup relationship between two tables

Internal data

data that are housed within a company

Interval data

numerical data measured along a scale, with an equal and definite interval or distance between each data point, but no meaningful zero; examples include temperature and SAT scores

Nominal data

categorical data that cannot be ranked. Examples include eye color and transaction type (purchase, return)

Nonprintable characters

characters that our eyes can't see but that the computer interprets as part of the string. They include white spaces, page breaks, line breaks, and tabs

Numerical data

meaningful numbers that represent quantities, such as transaction amount, net income, age, or score on an exam

Ordinal data

categorical data with natural, ranked categories, such as letter grades (A, B, C, D, F) and Olympic medals (gold, silver, bronze)

Outlier

an extreme value in a data set; an observation or data point that lies outside its expected distribution

Primary key

a field or attribute that is required to exist in each table of a relational database and serves as the unique identifier for each record in the table

Proportion

the number of observations in one category divided by the grand total of all observations

Ranking

a position on a scale

Ratio

the numerical relationship between two variables

Ratio data

numerical data with an equal and definitive value between each data point and a meaningful zero

Raw data

data that have not been processed, cleaned, or aggregated

Records

the rows in a table, with each observation corresponding to a unique instance of what is being described in the table

Relational database

a database that compiles data into separate tables, with each table containing a unique list of the items stored; relational databases are means of storing data in order to ensure that the data are complete, not redundant, and to help enforce business rules. They also aid in communication and integration of business processes across an organization

Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)

U.S. government agency charged with protecting investors by requiring full and truthful financial disclosure by companies

Semi-structured data

data with elements of both structured and unstructured data. Although ___ ______ data does not have any internal structure (such as labeled columns), they may come with tags or markers explaining what the data represent

Structured Data

highly organized data that fit neatly in a table or database. Balance sheets and income statements are examples of ______ _____

Structured Query Language (SQL)

a universal database language that can be used to create, update, and delete records and tables in relational databases. For business analysis projects, ____is often used to retrieve a subset of data from a database

Table

the representation of data organized into sets of columns (fields) and rows (records)

Tabular data

data structured into rows and columns, with each column dedicated to one attribute of what is being described overall in the table

Unstructured Data

data without internal organization (or structure). Blogs, posts on X, and pictures posted on Instagram are examples of unstructured data