Data probably makes most people think either of strings of digital data in binary code (the 0s and 1s used by computers); or of tables of numbers. Most data we use, however, is analogue – that is, it is expressed in relation to something else – and consists of feelings, ideas, sensations, words and memories. Data is made whenever anything is sensed or measured. There is nothing necessarily more accurate, precise or useful about data expressed as numbers, including in binary code. The most valuable source of data for a local leader are your own senses. In particular, perhaps, your ears and eyes because: these give you an insight into what other people’s senses are picking up; and we can easily record and communicate the evidence of the senses.
Important types of data
Although our own senses are the most valuable source of data we can use, our ability to sense data directly is limited. It is hard to see the costs of things or what is going on inside them, for example. It is also hard to know how significant the things are that we see and hear (or that other people show and tell us) without having other things to compare with. So – apart from the evidence of our own senses – we are particularly interested in finding:
- data to do with the value of things
- data to do with the state of things (particularly internal things we can’t tell using our own senses)
- data to do with where things are
- data for comparison.
Where important data comes from
Apart from our own senses, these important types of data come from a wide range of other places. For a local leader, they will include:
- local authority officers and managers of other local services; other local authorities and local public agencies and their associations; the government and its departments and agencies; standards institutions; Parliament; the European Union and its institutions and other international agencies; and the Office for National Statistics
- the media, journalists and communications professionals, newspapers and broadcasts, opinion polls
- local businesses and the people who manage them, business associations; large businesses and their associations; lobbyists and thinktanks
- voluntary organisations, charities and their associations; charitable trusts who fund education and research; pressure groups and campaigners; researchers and academics; political parties; social businesses and their associations; churches and faith organisations; universities, colleges and schools; consumer groups; non- governmental organisations
- residents and community groups.
Bias and triangulation
The data from the sources listed above have two things in common:
- they are all subject to bias – even things like Census information from the Government’s Neighbourhood Statistics website: people don’t always tell the truth on their Census returns
- they are usually most useful when put together with data from dissimilar sources.
This relates to the idea of triangulation used by surveyors and navigators to get an idea of where things are in relation to each other. Whereas one source might be biased, if we can look at data from several different (and dissimilar sources), we can get a more reliable idea of the truth.
Next – you could have a look at
the summary of this section on Open Data
why ‘bigger’ isn’t always better when it comes to data
OR – follow the menu on the right to have a look at other parts of the guide.