Raw data characteristics:

• Possibility to contain multiple errors
• Invalid data
• Data might be available in various formats
• Data might be unformatted or uncoded
• Some data may still require citation or confirmation
  

A data input sheet may include dates as raw data in various forms: "31st March 2013", "31/03/2013", "31/3/2013", "31 March", or "today". Once recorded, these raw data could be processed and stored in a normalized format - maybe a Julian date, which would help the humans and computers to interpret at the time of later processing.

Raw data are the data input for processing. A differentiation is often developed between data and information signifying that information is the final product of data processing. Raw data have the ability to become information; however, for that to happen, it is essential to extract, organize and in some cases, analyze and format the raw data.

As an illustration, a point-of-sale terminal (POS terminal) used in a crowded supermarket gathers significant volumes of raw data daily; however, those data do not deliver much information unless they are processed or cooked.

Once cooked, the data might be able to point out the precise products that every customer purchases, the time of purchase, and the price at which the products are purchased. This sort of information can then develop into data for processing predictive marketing strategies.

Due to data processing, the raw data may sometimes ends up in a database. This helps the raw data to become available for additional processing and analysis in many different ways.