Researching something is no easy task. You need to interview hundreds of sources to collect data, and then group that massive amount of data in a neat way to start sorting through it.
But how would you group your valuable data? The answer is: through a table.
The thing is, people usually get confused between rows and columns when making a table. Columns and rows are also used in MS Excel and other software which we normally utilize every day.
Therefore, this article will help you differentiate between the two.
What is data?
Before we start, it’s important to first understand the difference between data and information. While they are usually used interchangeably, they refer to different things.
Data refers to the raw facts gathered about a person, place, or phenomena. It’s not specific and is very bare. In addition, researchers acknowledge that large portions of their collected data could be irrelevant or useless.
So how do researchers gather data?
Well, data is collected by going over previous records, as well as the researcher’s own observations.
The most efficient way to collect data is by conducting experiments, in order to test the validity of a hypothesis (or theory).
Researchers focus on two types of data:
- Primary Data (qualitative, quantitative)
- Secondary Data (internal, external)
According to studies, primary data refers to “data that has been generated by the researcher, surveys, interviews, experiments, specially designed for understanding and solving the research problem at hand.”
While secondary data is “existing data generated by large government institutions, healthcare facilities, etc. as part of organizational record keeping.”
Qualitative data refers to discrete data, meaning data such as favorite color, number of siblings, and country of residence. On the other hand, quantitative data refers to continuous data, such as height, hair length, and weight.
What is information?
Information refers to proven facts about a person, place, or phenomena and is obtained by processing and analyzing data in order to find connections or trends.
One last difference between the two is that data is unorganized, while information is organized into tables.
There are four main types of information:
- Factual – information that only uses facts
- Analytical – information that analyzes and explains the facts
- Subjective – information that deals with one viewpoint
- Objective – information that concerns multiple viewpoints and theories
Depending on the data collected, the type of information derived will change.
Rows VS Columns
What are rows?
Using rows and columns to present data is necessary. By sorting data into rows and columns, a researcher can observe potential connections in their data, as well as make it more presentable.
But what exactly are rows and columns?
Rows refer to the horizontal lines in a table, which run from left to right, with their heading and the left-most side of the table.
You can picture a row as a line that stretches horizontally from one room to another, or even as the seats in the movie theater that go from one end of the hall to the other.
Assume you need to list the ages of the people in your neighborhood. You’d write this as:
| Age (years) | 16 | 24 | 33 | 50 | 58 |
In this case, “age” acts as the heading for the row, while the data is read from left to right.
Rows are also used in MS Excel. There are 104,576 rows available, which hopefully is enough to contain all your data, and all these rows are labeled by numbers.
Rows have other functions as well.
In matrices, a row refers to the horizontal entries, while in database software such as MS Access, a row (also called a record) is composed of various data fields about a single person.
What are columns?
Columns refer to the vertical lines in a table, which run from top to bottom. A column is defined as the vertical division of facts, figures, or any other details on the basis of category.
In a table, columns are separated by lines to help readers easily sort through the data mentioned.
Assuming that we add columns to the above row:
| Age (years) |
| 16 |
| 24 |
| 33 |
| 50 |
| 58 |
Notice how much easier it is to read from top to bottom rather than from left to right.
In addition, simply adding a column has reduced the amount of space taken on the page, making the data more appealing to the eye.
Columns are therefore incredibly important, as, without them, it would be nearly impossible to understand which category a piece of data belongs to.
Here we have added a video to briefly explain to you the difference between rows and columns:
In spreadsheets such as MS Excel, columns refer to a vertical line of ‘cells’, and each column is labeled with either a letter or a group of letters, which ranges from A to XFD (meaning that there are a total of 16,384 columns in one Excel page).
In databases, such as MS Access, a column is also called a field, and it contains one characteristic or category to help group data.
Rows and columns are also used in matrices. A matrix is a set of numbers set in a rectangular array, with each individual unit being called an element.
Let’s look at the following matrix:
In this matrix, 1, 6, 10, and 15 represent the first column, while 1, 5, 10, and 5 represent the first row. In order to properly solve matrices, you need to understand rows and columns.
Matrices make up a very important part of our lives, as they are used in many video games, business analytics, and even digital security.
Another use of rows and columns is in databases.
We’ve mentioned them briefly in this article, but what exactly are databases?
A database is an arranged collection of data, or structured information generally stored in a computer system.
One database you may know of is the database created by your school. A school’s database consists of a student’s first and last name, their subjects, and their graduation date.
The above example is a basic database from a university. The columns are first name, last name, major, and graduation year, while the rows include all relevant data about each student.
How is data presented?
Data can be presented in multiple ways; through classification, tabulation, or graphs.
For this article, however, we will only look at the tabulation method. The tabulation method is used to present data in a compact table of rows and columns, making it more attractive and easier to understand.
Data is organized by headings (data type) and sub-headings (serial number), for example:
| Serial Number | Name | Age (years) | Favorite Color |
| 1 | Lucy | 12 | Blue |
| 2 | James | 14 | Grey |
Headings are for columns, while sub-headings are for rows. The tabulation method is incredibly useful, as it brings relevant data close together, thus helping in statistical analysis and interpretation.
In Conclusion
Grouping valuable data in a conventional order is significant to make information easier to understand. Now that we know the difference between rows and columns, it is important to use them in a spreadsheet accordingly.
The use of rows and columns makes it easier to place the information horizontally and vertically in a series of cells in a spreadsheet.
Further, these rows and columns also play an important role in matrices and other various data assembling activities.
Therefore, the use of rows and columns is essential for acknowledging the categories it belongs to and for data gathering.