Characteristic of data: structure

Name:

Date:

Class:

Quick Questions

Shade in the A or B circle for each question.

1. Which dataset is an example of structured data?

A A table of student names, ages and marks in rows and columns

B A folder of voice recordings from interviews

2. Which of these is unstructured data?

A A spreadsheet with the headings Name, Suburb and Age

B A pile of customer comments written as free text

3. True or false: Images and audio files are usually unstructured data.

A False

B True

4. What is the purpose of headings at the top of a table?

A They label each column so you know what type of data it holds

B They make the data unstructured so it is harder to misuse

5. Which dataset is easier to sort and filter?

A A table with a Date column and a Score column

B A long paragraph describing each score and date

Match the Pairs

Draw a line connecting each item on the left to its match on the right.

Left column		Right column
1\| Name \| Age \| Suburb \|		A=COUNTIF(C2:C50,"Melbourne")
2"Loved the app but it kept crashing!"		Bphoto.jpg, interview.mp3
3Structured data can be filtered and sorted easily because each field has its own column		CStructured data: a table with column headings, where each value sits in a fixed row and column
4Images and audio are unstructured, so they have no rows or columns to analyse directly		DIt is the other way around. Structured data is easier to analyse because its rows, columns and headings can be sorted, filtered and counted.
5A paragraph of survey comments is structured data because it is stored in one spreadsheet cell.		EStoring text in a cell does not make it structured. Free text has no fixed fields, so it is unstructured data.
6Unstructured data is easier to analyse than structured data because it has no layout rules.		FUnstructured data: free text with no fixed layout, so it is harder to sort or count

Definitions

structure

Fill in the Blanks

Complete each line of code by filling in the missing parts.

Structured data fits in rows and _______

Images and audio are ____________ data

=_______(C2:C30,">50")

SELECT * FROM students _____ year = 11;

Column ________ label each field in a table

Spot the Error

Shade in the letter of the line that contains an error.

Question 1

A Name Year Score

B Ava,11,82

C Ben,12,75

Question 2

A Item,Price,Qty

B Pen,2.50

C Book,12.00,4

Question 3

A IF data is free text

B THEN type ← "structured"

C ELSE type ← "unstructured"

Question 4

A Spreadsheet: structured

B Email body: unstructured

C Audio file: structured

D Customer table: structured

Question 5

A Structured: easy to filter

B Structured: easy to total

C Unstructured: easy to total

Answer Key

Characteristic of data: structure

Section A: Quick Questions

A — A table of student names, ages and marks in rows and columns

B — A pile of customer comments written as free text

B — True

A — They label each column so you know what type of data it holds

A — A table with a Date column and a Score column

Section B: Match the Pairs

| Name | Age | Suburb | → Structured data: a table with column headings, where each value sits in a fixed row and column

"Loved the app but it kept crashing!" → Unstructured data: free text with no fixed layout, so it is harder to sort or count

Structured data can be filtered and sorted easily because each field has its own column → =COUNTIF(C2:C50,"Melbourne")

Images and audio are unstructured, so they have no rows or columns to analyse directly → photo.jpg, interview.mp3

A paragraph of survey comments is structured data because it is stored in one spreadsheet cell. → Storing text in a cell does not make it structured. Free text has no fixed fields, so it is unstructured data.

Unstructured data is easier to analyse than structured data because it has no layout rules. → It is the other way around. Structured data is easier to analyse because its rows, columns and headings can be sorted, filtered and counted.

Section C: Definitions

structure — How data is organised. Structured data fits rows and columns with headings, like a table. Unstructured data, like free text, images or audio, has no fixed layout and is harder to analyse.

Section D: Fill in the Blanks

Structured data fits in rows and columns

Images and audio are unstructured data

=COUNTIF(C2:C30,">50")

SELECT * FROM students WHERE year = 11;

Column headings label each field in a table

Section E: Spot the Error

A — The heading row must separate each field with commas so it lines up with the data rows. It should be Name,Year,Score.

B — This row has only 2 values but the headings define 3 columns. A structured table needs every row to have the same fields. It should be Pen,2.50,10.

A — Free text has no fixed rows and columns, so it is unstructured. The condition must test for rows and columns, otherwise the THEN branch gives the wrong result.

C — Audio has no rows, columns or headings, so it is unstructured data. It should be Audio file: unstructured.

C — Unstructured data has no fixed fields, so totalling or counting it is hard. It should be Unstructured: hard to total.