Types of data: Terminology and examples

Data produced at wastewater utilities are obtained through a variety of devices, including actuators, control devices, and sensors. This results in data that can be highly variable in its structure. Dealing with the resulting heterogeneity of data formats can be a challenge when storing or interpreting the data. For this reason, this chapter serves as an overview for the most important structural aspects of data typically found at a utility. The specific aims of this chapter are to: • Introduce basic concepts for description, understanding, and management of data produced by online instruments, including sensors and actuators (e.g., valves and pumps). • Provide definitions for the most common terms used throughout this report to describe online sensor data as well as other data sources. • Provide practical examples to illustrate the provided definitions. Where feasible, we relied on existing standards and references to provide applicable definitions. However, many definitions are developed specifically for this report.