Data Handling Applications

Data Handling Applications

Data handling is concerned with how data is inputted, stored and output in computer systems.

It didn’t long take long from when computers were invented for businesses and organisations to appreciate the potential benefits that ICT could bring to a business.

Surveys

Surveys and questionnaires are highly useful data gathering tools for any business or organisation and have been used long before the invention of computers. They allow the collection and compilation of both qualitative and quantitative data.

Whilst surveys are incredibly useful, they can also be massively time consuming in all stages of the process, due to the volume of data the needs to be processed.

Advances in ICT have made  massive difference to the way that surveys and questionnaires are designed, conducted and analysed.

Improvements include:

• The ability to design surveys using word processing
• The ability to conduct surveys over the internet / on computer
• The ability to produce statistical analysis automatically.

Mailing Lists & Electronic Newsletters

Mailing lists are a great way of keeping people informed about an area of interest that they have subscribed to.

Mailing lists were original expensive and time consuming to run, with letters being printed on a printing press and being sent through the post to hundreds, if not thousands of people.

ICT has allowed the following improvements to mailing lists:

• Automated subscribe and unsubscribe systems
• Automated mass mailing via email to subscribers

Society Records

Societies, such as the Scouts association, Duke of Edinburgh award and other organisations need to store information about their members. This information can include:

This data used to be stored on paper, which was a slow and unreliable process. In the last 25 years this data has steadily moved to electronic format, such as using a spreadsheet or database software.

More recently there has been  a massive movement towards online membership management, for example the eDofE system,  or the online scout membership database.

Advantages of electronic records include:

School Reports

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• Attendance reports
• Student reports

Libraries

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Library inventory management systems include:

• Book search systems ( by title , author, publisher, etc)
• Book lending management.

Homework

Complete the quiz on QuizMaster, titled ‘6.2 Data Handling Applications Quiz’