Digital versus non-digital data
Data may also be divided into digital or non-digital data. A research project likely will include data that is both digital and non-digital, or data which may originally be non-digital that is later digitised. For example, printed self-report questionnaires that are later entered into a data analysis program such as SPSS, R or Excel.
Examples include:
| Digital data | Non-digital data |
|---|---|
| Digital chemical analyses (e.g. spectroscopy) | Biological materials |
| Digital photographs | Original artworks |
| Digital medical images (e.g. DEXA scans) | Completed paper-based questionnaire responses |
Your research data management plan should account for all types of data.