classifying them. An example might be by taking the raw scores of a class examination and
computing the class average.
Do raw data have to be processed in order to be meaningful? The answer is ‘‘not at
all.’’ Imagine, for example, that you take a test in a class. Which is more important to
you—the average score for the class as a whole (a processed value) or your score (a raw
data value)? Similarly, suppose you own shares of stock in a particular company. Which of
these values would be least important to you: (1) the average price of a stock that was
traded during a given day (a processed value), (2) the price you paid for the shares of stock
(an unprocessed value), or (3) the last price trade of the day (another unprocessed value)?