Okuzeka
Data Science & Analytics vocabulary · Data Collection and Cleaning

Data source

Meaning in data science & analytics, with examples

nounCore term

In data science & analytics, data source means: Any place that data comes from, such as a database, an app, a spreadsheet, a survey, an external API or a file sent by a partner.

In Turkish: veri kaynağı

How it is used

You connect to, combine, document or question a data source. Analysts often have to explain why two data sources give different numbers. In BI tools, 'data source' also means the connection a dashboard reads from.

Example sentences

  1. The two data sources disagree because one counts refunds and the other doesn't.

  2. Please list every data source you used in the appendix.

Common collocations

  • connect a data source
  • external data source
  • primary data source
  • combine data sources
  • raw dataData in the form in which it was first collected or exported, before anyone has cleaned, combined or summarised it.
  • datasetA collection of related data, usually organised as a table of rows and columns, that is used for analysis or for training a model.
  • single source of truthOne agreed place where a piece of data or a metric is stored and defined, so that everyone in a company works with the same numbers.
  • data pipelineA series of automated steps that moves data from its sources, transforms it and delivers it to a destination such as a warehouse, dashboard or model.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Data Collection and Cleaning

Practise with graded reading

Reading at the right level is the fastest way to make new words stick. Pick free English books by level: