Data are facts and figures (numerical or otherwise) collected with a definitive

purpose. Data is the plural of latin word datum.

When the information is collected by the investigator himself/herself, with a

definite objective in mind, then the data obtained is called Primary data.
When the information is gathered from a source which already had the information
stored, then such data obtained is called Secondary data. Such data which has been
colleced by someone else in some other context, needs to be used with great care
ensuring that the source is reliable.

Difference between the highest and lowest values of the data is called the range of
the data.
Frequency is the number of times a particular element (of the data) gets repeated
in the data.

To present a large amount of data, we condense it into groups. These groups are
called classes or class intervals and their size is called class-size or class-
width. In each of these classes, the lowest number is the lower-class-limit and the
highest number is the the upper-class-limit.

The mid-points of the class interval are called class-marks. So, class-mark=(lower-
class-limit + upper-class-limit)/2

Mean, Median, Mode and Range:

Mean (Average) - The mean is the average of all numbers and is sometimes called the
arithmetic mean. To calculate mean, add together all of the numbers in a set and
then divide the sum by the total count of numbers. Denoted by the symbol "x-bar".

Median - To find the median, organize each number in order by size; the number in
the middle is the median. If there is an even set of numbers, average the two
middle numbers. So, for a data containing n elements, if n is odd, median is the
((n+1)/2)th element and if n is even, median is the mean of the (n/2)th and the
((n/2)+1)th element.

Mode - The mode is the number that occurs most often within a set of numbers. Mode
helps identify the most common or frequent occurrence of a characteristic. It is
possible to have two modes (bimodal), three modes (trimodal) or more modes within
larger sets.

Range - The range is the difference between the highest and lowest values within a
set of numbers. To calculate range, subtract the smallest number from the largest
number in the set. Range shows how much the numbers in a set vary.

Many IT systems operate within an acceptable range; a value in excess of that range
might trigger a warning or alarm to IT staff.
To find the variance in a data set, subtract each number from the mean, and then
square the result. Find the average of these squared differences, and that is the
variance in the group.

Standard deviation denotes how far apart all the numbers are in a set. The standard
deviation is calculated by finding the square root of the variance.

Interquartile range, the middle fifty or midspread of a set of numbers, removes the
outliers -- highest and lowest numbers in a set. If there is a large set of
numbers, divide them evenly into lower and higher numbers. Then find the median of
each of these groups. Find the interquartile range by subtracting the lower median
from the higher median. If a rack of six servers' power wattage is arranged from
lowest to highest: 90, 98, 100, 102, 105, 110, divide this set into low numbers
(90, 98, 100) and high numbers (102, 105, 110). Find the median for each: 98 and
105. Subtract the lower median from the higher median: 105 watts - 98 W = 7 W,
which is the interquartile range of these servers.

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