1. Usable vs. Useful Data Not all data are created equal

2. What is data? Data are a mass collection of information Data can be: – Numbers (e.g. grade percentages) – Addresses – Photographs – Text (e.g. stories) – Binary code – Pretty much anything! However, not all data are usable or useful 2

3. Definitions Usable Data: Data that can be feasibly collected and analyzed. Useful Data: Data that can be collected and analyzed to solve a problem. All useful data is also usable. Why? 3

4. Usable Data Can these data be collected? …realistically analyzed? 4 Data to be collected/analyzedUsable? Demographics of all people in the United States (including, age, race, income, citizenship status, etc.) YES Demographics of all people on the planet (including, age, race, income, citizenship status, etc.) NO Shoe size of every patron that walks into any WalmartNO Every transaction processed by every patron at all WalmartsYES

5. Useful Examples Is there any reason why you would even want to collect or analyze these data? Does they answer any questions or allow you to make predictions? This is somewhat subjective. Be prepared to defend your answers! En garde! 5

6. Are these useful? 1.Heights of adults and their locations in the world 2.Logging all texts sent on all cell phones in the country Might these be useful, and why? 6

7. On a scale 7 Data CollectionUsefulnessUsability A) Data from the GPS unit in your phone (for 1 year in 1 second intervals) B) Data from all GPS units in all phones around the world (for 1 year in 1 second intervals)

8. On a scale 8 Data CollectionUsefulnessUsability A) Whale sightings tagged with day of week (Sunday, Monday, etc.) B) Whale sightings tagged with location and date/time