Definition

Scientific or technical measurements, values calculated therefrom, observations, or facts that can be represented by numbers, tables, graphs, models, text, or symbols which are used as a basis for reasoning and further calculation. A reinterpretable representation of information in a formalized manner suitable for communication, interpretation, or processing. Examples of data include a sequence of bits, a table of numbers, the characters on a page, the recording of sounds made by a person speaking, or a moon rock specimen.

Source

 CEOS/WGISS/DSIG/GLOS

CEOS-WGISS Document: Auxiliary Data in the CEOS Community: Reference Guidelines Document Part 1: Current Usage (1996) accessible at wgiss.ceos.org/archive/archive.doc/ads200part1.doc

CEOS EO Data Stewardship Glossary; Reference Model for an Open Archival Information System (OAIS), Recommended Practice CCSDS 650.0-M-2, Magenta Book 2012

NESDIS Data Management Lexicon and Related Terms 

Category

4. Data Stewardship words

proposed amendment/new definition:

Value and (possibly) uncertainty of an attribute of a specific entity.

Note 1 to entry: Data can be factual  (i.e. obtained by observation) or fictional (obtained e.g. through modelling, estimating or assigning), quantitative (continuous) or qualitative (categorical) , and analogue or digital (list not exhaustive).

Note 2 to entry: Data simply describe entities using certain attributes and are not targeted at a particular use or audience.