Data Harmony: How We Can Turn Piles of Raw Data Into Usable Knowledge
Gathering Ocean Data WHOI physical oceanographer Glen Gawarkiewicz recovers a CTD rosette aboard the R/V Oceanus in heavy weather north of Cape Hatteras, N.C. A CTD is used to collect data about ocean salinity and temperature at varying depths. Woods Hole Oceanographic InstitutionHow do you know you're comparing apples to apples? Scientists from every discipline have more data than ever, but it's only as useful as the meaning behind it. Every bit of information is only explained by the context in which it was gathered, and often in the context in which it is used. "There is no such thing as raw data," says Bill Anderson of the School of Information at the University of Texas at Austin and associate editor of the CODATA Data Science Journal. Take the number 37, Anderson says. Other than stating a numerical order, it means little on its own. But with some more information - 37...