GoalSort data into structured, unstructured and semi-structured and say why.
New words
structured data · data that fits neatly in a table of rows and columnsunstructured data · data with no fixed form, such as free text, pictures and videosemi-structured data · data with some labelled parts and some free parts, like an e-maildatabase · an organised collection of data kept by computers
Explanation
Not all data looks the same. Structured data is neat: it fits in a table with rows and columns, like a school’s list of classes and marks in a database. Unstructured data has no fixed form: free text, pictures, audio and video. A social media post with a photo and a video is unstructured. Semi-structured data is in between. An e-mail is a good example: the message itself is free text, but it also has labelled parts such as the sender, the receiver, the date and the subject. A computer can search the labelled parts easily, but needs more work to understand the free text. When you meet a new piece of data, ask: does it fit a table, is it free, or is it a mix?
A
B
C
1
Day
Class
Plants sold
2
Sun
6A
12
3
Mon
6B
9
4
Tue
6A
15
5
Wed
6C
7
Worked examples
Kind
The club’s data
structured
table: day, class, plants sold
unstructured
free note about the rain
The garden club keeps a neat table: day, class, plants sold. It is structured, so a computer can add the column in a moment. The club also keeps a free note: “Wednesday was rainy and few people came.” The note is unstructured.
Part of an e-mail
Kind
sender, receiver, date, subject
labelled (structured)
the message text
free (unstructured)
the whole e-mail
semi-structured
An e-mail has a sender, a receiver, a date and a subject on labelled lines, and a free message below. Part labelled, part free: that is semi-structured.
Class activity
Draw a table with three columns: structured, unstructured, semi-structured. Write two examples in each from your own day, using no real names. Then draw a small table of rows and columns yourself, with a title and four rows, for something invented such as your class’s favourite fruits.
Practice
1
Which kind of data fits a table of rows and columns?
Structured data.
2
Is a photo with text a structured file?
No, pictures and free text are unstructured.
3
Why is an e-mail semi-structured?
It has labelled parts (sender, receiver, date, subject) and a free message.
4
Sort: marks table, video, e-mail.
Marks table: structured; video: unstructured; e-mail: semi-structured.
