How is Data Different From Metadata?
Metadata is a type of data. It is data about data. Most people associate the term “data” with computers; however, any information, regardless of how it is stored or accessed, constitutes data. Similarly, metadata exists in the world outside computers. It is not just in the realm of computer experts.
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Context
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Here are three pieces of data: “1123432222,” “5047654321” and “5047654432.” These are just meaningless strings of numbers without a context. Data requires two properties: a context and a value. Here are three pieces of meaningful data: “Bank Account Number: 1123432222,” “Telephone Number: 5047654321” and “Fax Number: 5047654432.” The labels on these three numbers give them a context; the numbers themselves become values in a context. All three pieces of information are data; the labels, or context, explain the values and so are metadata.
Format
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Data differs from information because information includes instruction. Information can be as long as a lecture or as short as a telephone number. The term “data” refers to plain values expressed without prose. A format, however, is a type of metadata that imparts instructions in a standardized code. Formats are not usually created to be studied. They aid in the expression and examination of data by imposing a standard presentation. For example, telephone numbers in a list are easier to read if every entry is written in exactly the same way. Also, numbers in a column are easier to add up if they are all right justified, use the same thousand and decimal place separators and use the same method of showing currencies or negative values. People compiling lists have to learn formats, so the format metadata also becomes information.
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Structure
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Any collection of data is easier to manage if it is structured. Anyone performing a market survey would do so by structuring a form and then filling out each answer as the questions are asked of the subject of the survey. Each page filled out in the survey follows the same structure, making the information easy to compile. Database systems structure data in tables, and those tables have to be defined. The structure of a market survey form and the structure of a database table are both examples of metadata. The structure is then expressed as a layout, which forms an essential part of putting the data into both a format and a structure. The layout is data about the format and structure of the data, so it also is metadata.
Comparison
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All metadata are data, but not all data are metadata. Data require a context and a value. Format and structure ease the consumption of data. Context, format, structure and value are all types of data. Context, format and structure are metadata, but value is not.
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References
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