Unstructured data refers to masses of (usually) computerized information which do not have a data structure which is easily readable by a machine. Examples of unstructured data may include audio, video and unstructured text such as the body of an email or word processor document.

Examples

Data with some form of structure may also be referred to as unstructured data if the structure is not helpful for the desired processing task. For example, an HTML webpage is highly structured, but this structure is often oriented towards formatting, rather than performing more complex tasks with the content of the page.

Dealing with unstructured data

Data mining and text analytics techniques are different methods used to find patterns in, or otherwise interpret, this information. UIMA provides a common framework for processing this information to extract meaning and create structured data about the information.

Notes

1. The problem with unstructured data, DMReview, February 2003.

See also

• Unstructured information
• UIMA
• Data mining
• Data structure

External links

• Database soup: Unstructured data as an oxymoron

Data structures | Data collection | Information technology management | Business intelligence | Knowledge discovery in databases