COMPUTER ASSINGMENT

Topic
STRUCTURED AND UNSTRUCTURED DATA

ZOHA ASIF (PHM-65)

3RD YEAR 6TH SEMESTER
PHARM D
WHAT IS DATA?
A distinctive piece of information that is obtained and interpreted for a specific purpose is called
data. Data can be found in a variety of places, including electronic memory, written or printed
on paper. Data is a fundamental block of information, the data contained in word or Power Point
is vastly different than that of phone number directory. Data is classified as structured or
unstructured data. Each form of data has unique properties, and which to employ is determined
by the specific needs of data analysis, storage, and recovery.

STRUCTURED DATA
When data conforms to a pre-defined structure we say it is structured data. Meaning that
accurately formatted and well-organized data is referred to as structured data. This data is kept in
relational databases' (RDBMSs') format, which consists of tables with connected rows and
columns. Structured data is recorded and organized in this way to make it simple to locate and
handle. RDBMSs allow us to easily search for specific information and identify the relationships
between its components as long as the data fits inside their framework.

There is a special programming language used for handling relational databases called SQL,
which stands for Structured Query Language.

Data format: Text and numbers are typically used to

present structured data. Its formats are easily understandable
and standardized. The most commonly utilized ones
are XML and CSV.

Data Nature: Structured data is often considered quantitative, consisting of precise numbers
or countable textual elements.

Analysis methods:
This type of data allows for straightforward analysis methods, including
 Classification (grouping similar data based on shared features)
 Regression (studying relationships between variables).
 Data clustering (organizing data into groups based on attributes).
Example:
Machine language can easily comprehend and interpret well organized data. Relational databases
with structured data are frequently used for inventory control, airline reservation systems, and
sales transactions, among other things.
The most popular examples of structured data are Excel files from Microsoft Office and Google
Sheets. This information may include contact information, ZIP codes, addresses, credit card
numbers, employee names, and other text and numerical data.

UNSTRUCTURED DATA
Unstructured data does not conform to any pre-defined data model. Which means that
unstructured data is information that doesn't have a specific structure or format. It can't be neatly
organized into a data model or spreadsheet, which makes tasks like managing, analyzing, and
searching for unstructured data quite challenging.

One of the ways to manage unstructured data is to opt for non-relational databases, also known
as NoSQL.

Data format: Unstructured data doesn’t have any

pre-defined data model and it is stored in its native
formats (“original” formats). Those can be audio
(WAV, MP3, OGG, etc.) or video files (MP4, WMV, etc.),
PDF documents, images (JPEG, PNG, etc.), emails,
social media posts, sensor data, etc.

Data nature: Unstructured data is typically labeled as qualitative data, consisting of subjective
information that can't be effectively processed using traditional methods and standard analytics
tools.
Analysis method: Analyzing this type of data demands more advanced techniques like
 Data stacking (breaking large volumes of data into smaller units and grouping variables
with similar values)
  Data mining (identifying patterns, anomalies, and interactions in large datasets to predict
potential outcomes)

Example:
Unstructured data takes many forms, including:

- Media, such as audio, video files, and images.

- Text files, encompassing Word documents, PowerPoint presentations, emails, and chat logs.
- Email, which, though partially structured due to internal metadata, often features unstructured
message content, posing challenges for analysis using conventional tools.
- Social Media data, which comprises information from platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and
LinkedIn.
- Mobile data, including unstructured text messages and location information.
- Communications data, encompassing unstructured chat conversations and call recordings.