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Data & File

Management
Section 6

Data and File Management

Outline
 Data vs information
 Ways of presenting information
 Data Concepts
 Analogue vs digital data
 Need for data converters
 Data representation in computers
 Data types
 Data entry techniques
 Methods of data collection
 Methods of data capture
 Codes
 Data entry methods
 Data entry checks
 Verification
 Validation
 File organisation
 File components
 File access methods
 Type of files

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Data and File Management

Data vs information

Data Information

Raw facts and figures Processed data e.g.

e.g. 140593 140593 is the date of
birth
No meaning to the user Has a meaning to the
user

Input to the computer Output from the

computer

Data Concepts

Ways presenting information

 There
are various ways of presenting information as
computer output. Information can be presented as:
A screen display:
A soft-copy (digital information); displayed on the screen
Hard copy:
 printed information on a physical medium like paper
Multimedia presentations:
 the use of text, graphics with motion and sound including
video, audio, animation and photographs together.
Sound:
 E.g. music
Virtual Reality:
 gives the user a real life experience via multimedia
effects; this is used in simulation of real life situations

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Data Concepts

Analogue vs Digital data

Analogue data Digital Data

Consists of continuous values. - A
good example of this is
an analogue clock. An analogue
clock shows the time with
a smoothly moving seconds hand.
The change is continuous.
Consists of discrete or fixed values.
- A good example of this is a digital
clock. A digital clock jumps from
one second to another in clear
steps. The change is not smooth or
continuous.

Not directly processed by the Directly processed by the

computer computer
- This is because they need an ADC - This is because they are already in
to be processed the form the computer
understands

Data Concepts
Need for Data converters
These are devices used to convert data from one form to the
other :
Analogue to Digital Converter (ADC)- Used to convert analogue
data into digital form so that the computer can understand and
process the data.
 E.g. When processing data sent from a sensor
Digital to Analogue Converter (DAC)- Used to convert digital
from the computer to analogue form so that the computer can
effectively control these devices.
 E.g. If the computer is being used to control a device
(motor/valve) the device will be controlled by variable
voltages; the DAC will be used to send out analogue signal
Modem (MODulator DEModulator)-
 Converts computer’s digital signals (modulates it) into
analogue for transmission through telephone lines
 Reverse this process- analogue signal from a telephone line
into digital for a computer to process the data (demodulates
it)
 The main use it to connect to computer networks over long
distances using existing telephone line

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Data Concepts

Data types
Many different data types can be stored on a computer system. The data types
which are commonly used are as follows:
Numeric
 Numeric (number) data can be in two forms:- Integer and Real. E.g. 1288, 12.45,
-156
Text/Alphanumeric
 This allows you to type in text, numbers and symbols. E.g. John Smith, John123
Date/time
 Usually formatted in a specific way, e.g. dd/mm/yy, dd/mmm/yyyy, long time
etc. The format depends upon the setup of the computer, the software in use
and the user’s preferences. E.g. 25/10/2007, 15:56PM
Percentage
 Percentage numbers are real numbers (decimals) that have been formatted to
show values out of 100. Percentage are usually shown with the percentage
symbol (%). For example: 10%, -178%
Currency
 Currency refers to real numbers that are formatted in a specific way. Usually
currency is shown with a currency symbol and (usually) two decimal places,
e.g. P5.23
Boolean
 Boolean data is sometimes called 'logical' data (or in some software, 'yes/no'
data). Boolean data can only have two values: TRUE or FALSE

Data Concepts

Data representation in computers

 When people count, they use the digits 0 to 9, which are digits
in the decimal system.
 A computer understands only two states, it uses a number
system that has just 2 unique digits, 0 and 1. This number
system is referred to as binary system.
 Each 0 or 1 digital value is called a bit (binary digit) and represents
the smallest unit of data the computer can handle
 By itself a bit is not very informative; when 8 bits are grouped
together as a unit, they are called a byte. 1byte is used to
represent 1 character.
 And 1024 bytes=1KB, 1024KB=1GB, and so on…
 The combinations of 0s and 1s are used to represent
characters on the keyboard, which are defined by patterns
called a coding scheme.
 The number 1 is represented as 00110001, the number 2 is
represented as, 00110010, and so on…
 Everything stored and processed by a computer is
represented in binary form
 images, audio, video, text etc

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Data entry techniques

Methods of data collection

Observation
 Involves looking at how things are done, while
making notes on the information obtained
Interviews
 Preparing questions and giving them to
respondents to answer immediately they get
questions, either orally or written
Questionnaires
 Preparing set of questions giving them to the
respondents to answer at their own time.
Document study
 Allows the analyst to see how the paper files are
kept, look at operating instructions and training
manuals, check the accounts, etc.

Data entry techniques

Methods of data capture

 Key-to-disk
 Optical Character Recognition
 Magnetic Ink Character Recognition
 Optical Mark Recognition
 Barcode readers/scanners
 Magnetic Stripe reading
 Voice Recognition System
 Data logging

List an advantage and a disadvantage for each of these method

above

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Key to disk
The information is keyed via a keyboard and then
stored
Advantages
 There shouldn’t be
much of a need for
training, as it is the most
common data input
method
 No need for
specialised data
collection documents
 Keyboard is cheaper
to purchase
Barcode Reading
USE: Used to scan bar codes which contains unique
information about a product.
 Much faster than
using manual
methods (key to
disk)
 Very accurate as
there is no manual
typing involved.
2022/08/19
Data entry techniques
Disadvantages
 Slow to enter data
 Transcription (data
entry) errors can
occur
 Handwriting
recognition can be
unreliable
Data entry techniques
 Barcodes may be
swapped during data
preparation
 Rely on undamaged to
barcodes in order to
function (i.e) does not
work on damaged
codes
Barcode reader may be

expensive to purchase
 Barcode only contains
numerical code
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Data entry techniques

Optical Mark Recognition

USE: Used to scan in marks from multiple

choice exams, surveys, and lottery tickets.

Advantages Disadvantages
 Damaged and dirty
 Recognition is documents are difficult to
exactly accurate read
 It is a much faster  The forms need special
designing to make sure
method of recording that the marks can easily
data than doing it all be read by the machine.
manually  If the forms are not
 Less chance of errors correctly filled, they
cannot be read properly

Data entry techniques

Optical Character recognition

USE: scans text from hardcopies and converts it into an

editable form which can be used and edited in a
range of software including word processors.

Advantages
 Much faster than
entering all the data
manually
 No special data-
preparation equipment
required – it just uses text
on ordinary paper
 Data is easily read by
humans as well as the
computer
Disadvantages
 Damaged and dirty
documents are difficult to
read
 The system cannot easily
read handwriting (text
and/or numbers)
 It is not very accurate
 Converted documents
will need to be checked

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Data entry techniques

Magnetic stripe reading

USE: Used to read data found on magnetic

stripes found on the back of cards.

Advantages
 Fast data entry
compared to manual
entry
 Secure/Error Free – No
Typing
 Not effected by water
and robust if dropped
Disadvantages
 Limited storage capacity
on a magnetic stripe
 If the stripe becomes
damaged in any way, all
of the data is lost
 The card needs to be
close to the reader for it
to work properly
 Not secure- stripes are
easily duplicated

Data entry techniques

Voice Recognition

USE: convert sounds made by a user, via a microphone

into commands that the computer can carry out

Advantages
 No special data-
preparation equipment
required – you just say
the data
 Data is easily understood
by humans as well as the
computer
 Little training is required
Advantages
 Recognition is not 100%
accurate
 Dictation systems need
to be trained
 Not everything – e.g.
mathematical formulae
– are easy to describe in
words

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Data entry techniques

Magnetic Ink Character Recognition

USE: Used to process bank cheques. The characters at the

bottom of cheque which are printed in a special ink are read
by the Magnetic Ink Character Reader.

Advantages
 No need to manually
enter text – less chance
of human error.
 Characters can not be
altered.
 Characters can be read
even if they have been
written over.
Disadvantages
 Specialist high-quality printing
equipment is required – this
obviously costs more
 Only certain characters can
be written that the device will
be able to interpret
 Its more expensive than most
direct data entry methods
 Limited amount of characters
can be read.

Codes
Introduction
 This usually means shortening the original data in an agreed
manner. The agreement is between the users of the system.
This coding scheme could be part of the training of how to
use the system, and it could also be documented within the
system for new users.

E.g. suppose that a field could contain one of three possible
values; Small, Medium or Large. Instead of typing in the full
word each time we could instead type S, M or L.

Reasons for using codes

 Speeding up data entry- because there is less to type
 Increase accuracy of data entry- Fewer key presses are
needed when entering a value in the field
 Allows for use of validation- packages allow automatic
validation checks to be set up to make sure that only the
allowed codes have been input in a field
 Less storage space required- due to fewer/less characters
used in codes
 Faster searching for data- much easier to search than typing
the whole word

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Data entry checks

Checking data

 Data stored on a computer is only useful as

long as it is correct and up-to-date.
 it is important to check data when it is
entered to make sure that it is both sensible
and correct.
 If data is not checked before it is processed
any errors could cause the final output to be
nonsense.
 There are two methods that can be used to
check data when it is input.
 These are called verification and validation.

Data entry checks

Verification
 Verification means to check that the data on the
original source document is identical to the data
that you have entered into the system.
 Verification does not check if data makes sense or is within
acceptable boundaries, it only checks that the data entered
is identical to the original source (source document).

Verification methods:
Double entry:
 Data is entered twice and the computer checks that they
match up
Visual check/proof reading:
 The user manually reads and compares the newly inputted
data against the original source to ensure they match

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Data entry checks

Validation
 Automated checking by a program that data is reasonable before it is
accepted into a computer system
 It is performed automatically by the computer system to ensure that only
data is that is reasonable is accepted
 Data that is not sensible or allowed is rejected by the computer

Validation checks:
 Range Check: Checks the data falls between an acceptable upper and
lower value, within a set range.
 Format Check: Checks that data is in a specific format E.g. Date should
be in the form dd/mm/yyyy
 Length Check: Checks if the input data contains the required number of
characters
 Character/type Check: Checks that the data entered is of an expected
type, e.g. text or a number
 Presence Check: Checks if data is actually present and has not been
missed out
 Check Digit: Look at an extra digit which is calculated from the digits of a
number and then put on the end of the number E.g. Check digits can
identify three types of error:
 If two digits have been inverted during input
 An incorrect digit entered twice
 A digit missed out altogether

Data entry checks

Validation Vs Verification

Verification Validation

- Can be done manual and by -Only done by a software

the computer

-Checks data against the source -Checks data for reasonability

document and accuracy

-Check applied after data entry -check at the time of entering

before processing

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File organisation
File components
 A database is an organised collection of information consisting of 1
or more files (or tables)
 A database file is a collection of related records. For example, a file
of information about all the pupils in a school
 A record in a database file is a collection of related fields. In the
records of the same type , the fields are in the same order.
 A field is an item of information. A field contains one individual item
of data. For example, each pupils surname.
 A key field or a primary key uniquely identifies a record.

Key Field Fields

Records

CarReg Make Model

B101AAA Toyota Corolla
B999ABD VW Polo
B675BDA BMW x5

File organisation
File access methods
Direct access
 This method is also called Random Access
 means that the required data can be found straight away
without having to read through all the data on the disk.
 Hard disks, CDs, DVDs, USB memory sticks all allow direct
access to data.
 Speed of access is faster

Serial Access
 Data is accessed by starting at the beginning and then
searched through, in order/sequence, until the required
information is found.
 Because it take longer to locate a file on serial access
devices, they are only used as backup and batch
processing.
 Were the speed of locating data is not important
 Magnetic tape allows only serial access to data.

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File organisation
Types of files
Transaction file:
 A temporary file containing transactions/changes that took place.
 Used to update the master file.
Master file:
 Represent the on-going information pertaining to an organisation
 The most important, permanent copy a file of an organisation
 It is lost or damaged, the whole system may break down

The grandfather-father-son principle often used for file security

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