Interpreting the data (DataPretation) is based on Reliability, Relevance and Context
Data has replaced oil as the world’s most valuable resource. As the new phrase goes: “Data is the new oil” — Clive Humby (2006)
We are surrounded by data all the time. We consume and generate data whether online or offline. The internet boom and globalization has given us access to data and content instantly. But the question is how well we interpret the data ?
Some questions to consider here:
- Is the data collected reliable.
- Is it still relevant. We might have collected the data 2 years or 2 months back, but in the fast changing times it might lose its relevance. So need to think.
- What is the context of the data.
Context is a vastly misunderstood word if ignored. So let’s understand it. Context is the setting or circumstances surrounding a situation. So when interpreting the data it’s important to understand the setting in which the data was collected. It might be reliable and relevant but still not useful because the context was incorrect
While interpreting the data, there are numerous tools available. In fact many new fields of study have come up recently like data science, analytics, Big Data, visualization. Software’s like R, SPSS , Kibana, Tableau etc. help us immensely in datapretation and decision making. But however good the tools and techniques maybe, don’t let the human reasoning and intuition be obscured by data.
If data is the new oil, then brain is the engine. Humans can think of far more possibilities and look beyond the data that is available. The left and right side of the brain give us the powers of reasoning and intuition respectively. Use it well.
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