What Is Structured Data?
Structured data is typically stored in tabular form and managed in a
relational database (RDBMS). Fields contain data of a predefined
format. Some fields might have a strict format, such as phone
numbers or addresses, while other fields can have variable-length
text strings, such as names or descriptions.
The term structured data refers to data that resides in a fixed field
within a file or record. Structured data is typically stored in a relational
database (RDBMS) and can consist of numbers and text. Sourcing
can happen automatically or manually, as long as it's within an
RDBMS structure. It depends on the creation of a data model, defining
what types of data to include, and how to store and process it.
The programming language used for structured data
is SQL (Structured Query Language). Developed by IBM in 1974, SQL
handles relational databases and doesn’t require advanced coding
skills. Typical examples of structured data are names, addresses,
credit card numbers, numerical data, Microsoft Excel files, text files,
and so on.
What Is Unstructured Data?
Unstructured data is more or less all the data that is not structured.
Even though unstructured data may have a native, internal structure,
it's not structured in a predefined way. There is no data model; the
data is stored in its native format.
Typical examples of unstructured data are rich media, text, social
media activity, video files, audio files, surveillance imagery, and
various other file formats.
Structured vs. Unstructured Data:
Defined vs. Undefined Data
Structured data is clearly defined data in a structure. While
unstructured data is usually stored in its native format, structured data
lives in rows and columns and can be mapped into predefined fields.
Unlike structured data, which you can organize and access in
relational databases, unstructured data does not have a predefined
data model and is undefined.
Qualitative vs. Quantitative Data
Another difference between structured and unstructured data is that
structured data is often quantitative data, meaning it usually consists
of hard numbers or things that can be counted. (For example, product
information in a customer relationship management system, or CRM.)
Methods for analysis include regression (to predict relationships
between variables), classification (to estimate probability), and
clustering of data (based on different attributes). Data scientists and
other data analysts can use these methods to generate business
insights for your organization.
Unstructured data, on the other hand, is often categorized as
qualitative data and cannot be processed and analyzed using
conventional tools and methods. In a business context, qualitative
data can, for example, come from customer surveys, interviews, and
social media interactions. Extracting insights from qualitative data
requires advanced analytics techniques like data mining and data
stacking.
Structured Data UnStructured Data
Data that is organized and in a predefined Data that Lacks a specific structure or format
model or schema. and is typically unorganized or in raw form
Well organized with the defined format such Lacks are predefined format and is
as tables and columns. unorganized
It is based on a relational database. It is based on character and binary data
Structured data is less flexible and schema There is an absence of schema so it is more
dependent flexible
Structured query allows complex joining Only textual queries are possible
It has a predefined format It has a variety of formats
i.e it comes in a variety of shapes and sizes
Highly accessible and can be easily retrieved Less accessible requires advance techniques
using SQL or other database tools for extraction and analysis
It is easy to search Searching for unstructured data is more
difficult
