IGCSE ICT

Data Handling Applications

Have an understanding of data handling applications and techniques used in everyday life:

address lists surveys tuck shop records clubs and society records school reports school libraries

Why Use Computers to Handle Data?

Even if you don't work for a huge busines s, It can be useful to use computers to ke ep track of data.

Data that is stored on a computer…

(as opposed to data written on paper) can be easily:

organised / sorted in different ways displayed / printed in a variety of styles a

nd layouts searched for specific things - updated adding / changing / deleting ite

ms - - backed up a copy can be made with just

a few clicks - stored / moved a memory stick is much

smaller than a cupboard full of paper!

What Might You Store on a Computer?

Your Address Book Most people need to keep track of lots of

telephone numbers, postal addresses, e- mail address, etc.

We can use a computer (don't forget yo ur phone is a computer too!) to help kee

p this data organised in an address database.

The old way:

A few years ago, before we had PCs and mobile phones to store this information in, most people would have used a little address book.

However, this type of book was 1.easy to lose (no back-up), 2.a pain to update (you have to cross out names, tear out pages, etc.) and3.slow to search through.

A typical computerised add ress book might store:

Name Address Phone number (home )Phone number (mobile )

Phone number (work )E-mail address Birthday Photograph Etc.

Features of address books

These help you organize the records so that you can quickly access the ones you want: Place your entries into groups (e.g. 'Famil

y', Friends', 'Work', etc.)Search (by name, groups, address, etc.)Synchronisation with other devices (com

puter, phone, PDA, etc.)

An electronic address book is much easier to keep up to date!

Surveys – who uses them & why?

Businesses who want to find out about the buying habits of customers

O rganisations who want to try to discover wh at people like / want / think.

Market research before the launch of a new product

Politicians to find out what their constituents want

Businesses/organizations who want to evaluate their products/services

Surveys can be performed using paperquestionnaires, and then the results entered into the computer by:

Typing data in Scanning the paper forms, using OM

R technology

Paper based surveys

Advantages of using OMR

Fewer errors in data entry

Faster to get results

Much easier to do a statistical analysis

Less expensive – needs fewer people

Computer-based surveys

Alternatively, results can be entered into the computer directly, using an on-screen form (e.g . if using a tablet PC).The survey results are best stored on a computer so that they can easily be analyzed . Survey results on a computer allow:

Data to be quickly and easily queried (filt ered)

Charts to be easily created Summary reports to be created

Advantages of online surveys

No data preparation neededData is sent straight to a database

for analysisValidation can be used to ensure integrityNo printing costs

Sales Records for a Tuck Shop

It's important, when selling things, and dealing with cash, to keep track of the numbers involved.

A computer spreadsheet is a good way to record which items you have sold, and also to perform calculations on the data (calculate totals, averages, etc .).

A typical sales spreadsheet might contain

Item code Item

description Item cost Number sold Total cost Profit made

Why use spreadsheets?

Doing calculations manually can lead to mistakes . When money is involved, it's best to let a computer do the work.

“What if” analysis – projections/ changed parameters

Conditional formatting for warnings etc

Clubs & Society Records

Clubs / societies need to keep track of their members . A membership database allows the club / society to easily contact members, check that they have paid any fees, etc.

What data is stored?

A typical computerized membership database might store:

Membership number Name Address Phone number Fees to charge Have fees been paid (Y/N)Etc.

Why use computers?

If a letter needs to be sent to every member of the club / society, the names and addresses of the members can be taken from the membership database and automatically placed onto a letter .This is called a -mail merge.

A mail-merge is a very easy way to automatically create lots of letters that seem to be personally written for each person, but in fact are all the same letter, just with the name and address changed.

Also can be used to produce membership/ID cards

Check on subscriptions/send out reminders

Advantages of computerised systems

Take less time to search than manual systems

Paper based systems may have data missing

Paper based forms can be lost or misfiled

Less expensive (paper/printing costs)

Saves storage space

School Reports

A school typically keeps data on student academ

ic performance in a computerized database . This allows the school

to easily track how students progress, as well as making the creation of printed reports very easy (compared to hand writing every report)

A typical school report database might contain:

Student ID NameHomeroom group Grades for Term 1 Attendance for Term 1 Comments by teachers for Term 1 fff ffff f 2

Etc.

School Library Database

Even a small library, such as the one in a school, needs to keep track of which books are available, and who has borrowed any of them.A typical school library system would store the following information :

Books •ID number •Title •Author •Publisher •Fiction? (Y/N)•Genre

Borrowers •ID number •Name •Class •Date of birth

•Fines to pay

Loans •Book ID •Borrower ID •Date borrowed

•Returned? (Y/N)

The old way:

Before the use of computers, libraries used drawers full of little cards to keep track of library books . The system was hard to manage, and cards could easily get lost or mixed up .

A typical library database

Go to bbc.co.uk/bitesizeMake notes on Data and InformationComplete the testGo to HowStuffWorks and make notes

about online surveys: Why are online surveys better – for both

businesses AND consumers? Advantages, disadvantages & dangers of

online surveys How companies can maintain survey integrity

Homework