Difference between Data and Metadata

Last Updated : 08 Oct, 2024

The term 'data' may also refer to various forms such i.e. numbers, text, images, or audio that provide information concerning facts, phenomena, or even concepts. In other words, it is the basic information that is subjected to processing or interpretation to find meaning or generate products. Metadata however is generally, "information on information system". It gives extra value-added details either relevance, organization, or even management of files that include information such as file size, the date the file was created, or the writer of the file among others. In essence, data is the raw material while the metadata is the ingredient that seasons the dish cooked using the data in question, improving its findability and understandability. They are both necessary in data management but usually perform complementary functions. In this article, we will be learning more about data and metadata and their differences.

What is Data?

The term data is derived from the Latin word 'Datum' which refers to 'something gave'. Data is raw and unorganized facts that are useless without proper processing and organizing them to retrieve some information for future use. Data is a set of facts and statistics that can be operated, referred or analyzed. It can simply be a piece of information, a list of grocery items, or observations, a story, or a description of a certain scenario.

Benefits of Data

Essential Purpose: The data refers to the relevant content and information important in analytics, decision-making, or even operation.
Creation of Value: Data after being processed and analyzed can be able to show trends and other valuable information as well.
It is Eased by Availability of Data: Data that can be trusted allows for proper prediction, business planning, and decision-making.
All in One: Data can be presented in many ways ranging from figures to pictures enabling several uses like artificial intelligence, reporting, and even data analysis.

Drawbacks of Data

Data Overload: Dealing with huge amounts of unprocessed information without appropriate devices can be a nightmare due to ineffectiveness.
Data Complexity: There are instances where data may be useful but worthless because a lot of processing is needed to have useful output hence it becomes costly in terms of time and human capital.
Data Storage: Data management is costly, and both developing and retaining large data sets is difficult.
Data Quality: Inadequate or errorful data may cause misleading evaluations or inappropriate decisions.

What is Metadata?

Metadata is a data about data. Metadata shows basic information about data, which can make finding and working with specific instances of data easier. Metadata increases the accuracy of searching and operating of data from large amount of data. It helps in fetching piece of some data that is required from the bundle of data vastly, Metadata provides the information regarding organization of raw data. It may be created manually or by automatic information processing. Manual processed metadata is more accurate than automatic information processed one because automatic information processed metadata only contains file name, size, extension, time of creation and information about who created the file.

Benefits of Metadata

Enhanced Record Keeping: Metadata assists file management and indexing and hence retrieval of data from storage devices is faster.
Increased Search Efficiency: Search for locating any data or file with well-prepared metadata takes little time and is effective.
Gives Meaning: Metadata provides information about data such as its organization, form, and origin so that it can be used well.
Facilitates Data Management: It has a role in the execution of data governance activities such as managing the different versions, confidentiality, and tracking of the data.

Drawbacks of Metadata

May Be Wrong: Having error or partial metadata may confuse or make the interpretation of that information difficult, or even be unable to locate what is needed.
Excessive Focus on Production: Developing and updating metadata from time to time is an uphill task and a lot of effort is required, particularly when working with big data sets.
Storage Space: While it is true that most of the time, metadata is less heavy than data, a great deal of it can cause a problem of space especially in very large data sets.
Risk: Certain types of metadata are sensitive and if the necessary safeguards are not implemented may leak important information regarding the data files like when they were created, who created them and where they were created posing a risk to privacy and security.

Difference Between Data and Metadata

Factors	Data	Metadata
Concept	Data is any sort of information which is stored in computer memory. This information can later be used for a website, an application or can be used in future.	Metadata describes relevant information about the data.
Information	Data may or may not be informative.	Metadata is always informative.
Processing	Data may or may not have been processed.	It is always a processed data.
Storage	In DBMS data is stored as a file either navigational or hierarchical form.	It is stored in data dictionary.
Description	In DBMS data refers to all the single items that are stored in a database either individually or as a set.	Metadata refers to name of attributes, their types, user constraints, integrity information and storage information.
Utilization	Many different uses can be made of it in the future.	In a document, it is the supporting data.
Management	Depending on the nature and use case, data must be stored and managed differently.	No matter the data type or the intended use case, data administrators may make metadata management general throughout an organization.
Example	If you create a notepad file, then the content of that document is data.	if you create a notepad file the name of the file, storage description, type of file, size of file all becomes metadata of your file.

Conclusion

In conclusion, information is made up of both data and metadata which perform different but related functions. Data is the content that is in itself valuable while metadata provides the necessary circumstances which make it easy to explain, find and classify the data. Metadata also helps in the effective use of large volumes of data by providing information about the content and form of the data. Knowledge of the distinction between the two is important in enhancing the storage, access and use of data and information more so in the modern age where data is everything. They also focus on improving the processes of data management, which in turn leads to better decisions made.