Question

Explain what \(data\) are and give an example.

Short answer

Data are facts or statistics collected for reference or analysis. An example would be the results of a survey that collects responses about people's eating habits which might include data points like 'number of meals eaten per day' or 'frequency of dining out in a week'.

Step-by-step solution

Define 'Data'

'Data' is a term used to describe facts or statistics collected together for reference or analysis. It can be numerical, textual, or symbolic information encoded in a form suitable for processing in an automated manner.

Provide an example

For instance, the results of a survey that collects responses about people's eating habits. This could involve data like 'Number of meals eaten per day', 'Preference for vegetarian or non-vegetarian food', 'Frequency of dining out in a week', etc. Such information which is collected for analysis is an example of data.