Data capture

Before setting up a databasedatabase: a structured collection of records or data stored in a computer system the datadata: information without context, eg a list of students with numbers beside their names is data, when it's made clear that those numbers represent their placing in a 100 metre race, the data becomes information must be collected. This can be done using a data capture formdata capture form: a method for collecting data.

A form completed by a customer buying a car from a showroom is an example of a data capture form.

An example of a data capture form for a car showroom

Data capture forms often use boxes or a set amount of spaces and occasionally provide examples too. This is to make sure each field is completed correctly.

Data is often entered as a code in a database, for example in the above data capture form Y is used for Yes and N for No. Codes like this are used because they:

• are quicker to type in
• use less disk space
• are easy to validate
• make searching the database easier as data is entered in a standard format