Raw data

As well, raw data have not been subject to any other manipulation by a software program or a human researcher, analyst or technician.

Raw data can be inputted to a computer program or used in manual procedures such as analyzing statistics from a survey.

For example, cash registers, smartphones, and speedometers serve a main function but may collect data as a secondary task.

[1] In computing, raw data may have the following attributes: it may possibly contain human, machine, or instrument errors, it may not be validated; it might be in different area (colloquial) formats; uncoded or unformatted; or some entries might be "suspect" (e.g., outliers), requiring confirmation or citation.

Once processed and analyzed by a software program or even by a researcher using a pen and paper and a calculator, this raw data may indicate the particular items that each customer buys, when they buy them, and at what price; as well, an analyst or manager could calculate the average total sales per customer or the average expenditure per day of the week by hour.

Tim Berners-Lee (inventor of the World Wide Web) argues that sharing raw data is important for society.