Fundamentals of Data Analytics (Unit F200)

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering foundational concepts of data, information, knowledge, file formats, data types, classifications, lifecycle management, analytics pipelines, security access controls, and regulations for Cambridge Advanced National in IT: Data Analytics (Unit F200).

Data

Raw, unprocessed facts and figures without context, such as numbers, symbols, or dates.

Information

Data that has been processed, structured, and contextualized to provide meaning and relevance.

Knowledge

The synthesis of information with experience, context, and insights that enables decision-making and problem-solving.

Data Format

The organization, layout, or internal structure used to store, encode, and represent digital data.

Data Analytics

The application of statistical calculations, analytical techniques, and technologies to data to discover trends and solve problems.

Qualitative Data

Non-numerical, descriptive data that captures characteristics, qualities, or opinions, typically gathered via interviews, observations, or open-ended questions.

Quantitative Data

Numerical values that can be measured or counted, enabling mathematical calculations, statistical analysis, and hypothesis testing.

Structured Data

Data that follows a predefined schema and is organized into tabular formats with rows and columns, such as relational databases and spreadsheets.

Unstructured Data

Free-form data that lacks a predefined format or structure, such as emails, social media posts, audio recordings, and video comments.

Boolean Data Type

A fundamental data type that represents only two possible binary values: True or False, commonly used in logic checks and user authentication.

Character Data Type

A memory-efficient data type designed to store a single letter, number, or symbol, often used for status codes or grading scales.

Date Data Type

A data type used to store calendar dates and times, facilitating chronological organization, event scheduling, and time-series analysis.

Integer Data Type

A memory-efficient numeric data type that stores whole numbers without fractional components, used for counting and indexing.

Real Data Type

A numeric data type that stores fractional values containing decimal points, vital for high precision in finance, science, and engineering.

String Data Type

A versatile data type consisting of a sequence of characters, supporting operations such as text search, concatenation, and formatting.

ASCII (American Standard Code for Information Interchange)

A character encoding standard assigning unique numbers to text characters; standard ASCII represents up to $128$ characters.

TXT File Format

A simple plain-text format storing unformatted text data, widely used for basic documentation, code, and notes due to universal compatibility.

CSV (Comma-Separated Values)

A plain-text data format where values are delimited by commas, designed for the straightforward exchange of tabular data across platforms.

Fixed Width Format

A plain-text file structure where columns are defined by specific character lengths, commonly used in legacy data systems.

AIFF (Audio Interchange File Format)

An uncompressed audio format using lossless compression to retain complete acoustic fidelity, making it a standard choice for professional audio editing.

WAV (Waveform Audio File Format)

An uncompressed audio format providing high audio fidelity, commonly utilized for recording podcasts, lectures, and archival sound.

JPEG

A compressed graphic file format that utilizes lossy compression to reduce file sizes for web images and photography, but lacks transparency support.

PNG

A raster image format featuring lossless compression and transparency support, making it ideal for web graphics, logos, and icons.

TIFF

A high-fidelity image format supporting multiple layers and uncompressed quality, standard in print publishing and scanning despite limited web use.

XML (Extensible Markup Language)

A flexible, human- and machine-readable data format that supports hierarchical and nested data structures, commonly used in web services and configurations.

JSON (JavaScript Object Notation)

A lightweight, human-readable data interchange format that is easy to parse, widely used for exchanging data between clients and servers in RESTful APIs.

Data Lifecycle Management (DLM)

A policy-based framework that governs data throughout its operational existence across five core phases: Creation, Storage, Usage, Archival, and Destruction.

Five Phases of DLM

The sequential phases of data lifecycle management: $1.$ Creation, $2.$ Storage, $3.$ Usage, $4.$ Archival, and $5.$ Destruction.

Data Analytics Pipeline

The progression of stages through which data moves: Capture (Ingestion), Process (Transformation), Data Storage, Analysis, and Use (Visualisation).

Data Assurance

The practice of establishing confidence in data through principles like accuracy, quality, redundancy, reliability, timeliness, validation, validity, and verification.

Data States

The three conditions in which data exists: Data at rest (stored), Data in transit/motion (traversing a network), and Data in use (being processed in memory).

Network Attached Storage (NAS)

A dedicated, on-site data storage device connected to a network that enables multiple users to access and collaborate on shared files without a full server.

Public Cloud Storage

Off-site storage services managed by third-party providers over the internet, offering flexible scaling and lower upfront costs, but subject to multitenancy latency.

Data Wrangling

The process of cleaning, structuring, mapping, and transforming raw or messy data into a refined format suitable for downstream analytics.

Data Maintenance

The continuous routine upkeep, updating, and administrative auditing required to keep stored data accurate, reliable, and secure over time.

Descriptive Analytics

A category of analytics focused on summarizing and interpreting historical data to answer what happened in the past.

Diagnostic Analytics

An analytical approach that drills down into past data to determine why specific outcomes, trends, or anomalies occurred.

Predictive Analytics

An analytical method that applies statistical models and machine learning algorithms to historical data to identify trends and forecast future outcomes.

Prescriptive Analytics

An advanced analytics discipline that suggests actionable options and decision pathways to optimize outcomes based on predictive findings.

Cognitive Analytics

An emerging analytics branch that combines artificial intelligence, natural language processing, and machine learning to emulate human thought and interpret unstructured data.

Pie Chart

A circular data visualization divided into proportional slices to illustrate parts of a whole, particularly suited for small datasets.

Infographic

A visual presentation that combines imagery, charts, and minimal text to convey complex information clearly, memorably, and across language barriers.

Degaussing

A physical data destruction method that applies a strong magnetic field to disrupt the magnetic domains of storage drives, rendering data permanently unrecoverable.

Mandatory Access Control (MAC)

A strict access control model where a central authority grants access based strictly on user security clearance and data classification levels, which individual users cannot alter.

Discretionary Access Control (DAC)

An access control framework where the individual creator or owner of an object determines and manages the access permissions granted to other users.

Role-Based Access Control (RBAC)

A security model where access permissions and system rights are allocated according to a user's organizational role rather than their individual identity.

Attribute-Based Access Control (ABAC)

A dynamic access control method that evaluates policies against attributes of the user, resource, action, and environment to determine authorization.

User Rights Categories

The standard permissions assigned to system accounts: Read (view records), Write (create new records), Edit (modify existing data), and Delete (remove records).

Computer Misuse Act (CMA)

UK legislation enacted to criminalize unauthorized access, computer tampering, hacking, and the introduction of malicious programs to digital systems.

Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR)

UK statutory regulations that grant individuals privacy rights regarding electronic marketing, unsolicited communications, cookies, and tracking technologies.

Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)

UK legislation granting the public a legal right to request and access recorded information held by public authorities.

UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR)

The primary legal framework regulating the fair, transparent, and secure collection, storage, and processing of personal data across the UK.

Information Commissioner's Office (ICO)

The independent UK regulatory authority established to protect personal information rights and ensure organizational compliance with data protection legislation.

Data Analyst

A professional responsible for collecting, organizing, and examining data to extract meaningful business insights, detect patterns, and support decisions.

Data Engineer

A technical professional who designs, constructs, and maintains data pipelines, data architectures, and transformation algorithms to supply clean data for analytics.

Database Administrator (DBA)

A specialist responsible for the operational maintenance, integrity, backup, optimization, and security access privilege allocation of database systems.