<P> Data is often assumed to be the least abstract concept, information the next least, and knowledge the most abstract . In this view, data becomes information by interpretation; e.g., the height of Mount Everest is generally considered "data", a book on Mount Everest geological characteristics may be considered "information", and a climber's guidebook containing practical information on the best way to reach Mount Everest's peak may be considered "knowledge". "Information" bears a diversity of meanings that ranges from everyday usage to technical use . This view, however, has also been argued to provide an upside - down model of the relation between data, information, and knowledge . Generally speaking, the concept of information is closely related to notions of constraint, communication, control, data, form, instruction, knowledge, meaning, mental stimulus, pattern, perception, and representation . Beynon - Davies uses the concept of a sign to differentiate between data and information; data is a series of symbols, while information occurs when the symbols are used to refer to something . </P> <P> Before the development of computing devices and machines, only people could collect data and impose patterns on it . Since the development of computing devices and machines, these devices can also collect data . In the 2010s, computers are widely used in many fields to collect data and sort or process it, in disciplines ranging from marketing, analysis of social services usage by citizens to scientific research . These patterns in data are seen as information which can be used to enhance knowledge . These patterns may be interpreted as "truth" (though "truth" can be a subjective concept), and may be authorized as aesthetic and ethical criteria in some disciplines or cultures . Events that leave behind perceivable physical or virtual remains can be traced back through data . Marks are no longer considered data once the link between the mark and observation is broken . </P> <P> Mechanical computing devices are classified according to the means by which they represent data . An analog computer represents a datum as a voltage, distance, position, or other physical quantity . A digital computer represents a piece of data as a sequence of symbols drawn from a fixed alphabet . The most common digital computers use a binary alphabet, that is, an alphabet of two characters, typically denoted "0" and "1". More familiar representations, such as numbers or letters, are then constructed from the binary alphabet . Some special forms of data are distinguished . A computer program is a collection of data, which can be interpreted as instructions . Most computer languages make a distinction between programs and the other data on which programs operate, but in some languages, notably Lisp and similar languages, programs are essentially indistinguishable from other data . It is also useful to distinguish metadata, that is, a description of other data . A similar yet earlier term for metadata is "ancillary data ." The prototypical example of metadata is the library catalog, which is a description of the contents of books . </P> <P> Gathering data can be accomplished through a primary source (the researcher is the first person to obtain the data) or a secondary source (the researcher obtains the data that has already been collected by other sources, such as data disseminated in a scientific journal). Data analysis methodologies vary and include data triangulation and data percolation . The latter offers an articulate method of collecting, classifying and analyzing data using five possible angles of analysis (at least three) in order to maximize the research's objectivity and permit an understanding of the phenomena under investigation as complete as possible: qualitative and quantitative methods, literature reviews (including scholarly articles), interviews with experts, and computer simulation . The data are thereafter "percolated" using a series of pre-determined steps so as to extract the most relevant information . </P>

What do you mean by the term data