Data collected first-hand by the person or organisation that will use it, for a specific purpose, for example through a survey, interview or observation.
57 of the Digital Society glossary’s terms, each with the part of the syllabus where you first meet it.
A small unit of data sent across a network, containing part of a message and a header with the source and destination addresses and a sequence number.
A method of sending data in which a message is split into packets that travel independently, possibly by different routes, and are reassembled at the destination.
The 2015 international climate treaty under which countries set their own emissions targets (nationally determined contributions), report on progress and review collective progress every five years, with the aim of keeping global warming well below 2 °C.
The activities through which citizens take part in or influence government and public decisions, such as voting, standing for office, petitioning, protesting and responding to consultations.
A culture in which ordinary people do not only consume media but also create and share their own, with low barriers to taking part and support from a community of other creators.
The automated identification of regularities in data, such as shapes in images, sequences in sound or trends in numbers, so that new data can be classified or predicted.
Activities that aim to prevent violent conflict, end it or stop it from returning, by addressing its causes, rebuilding trust between groups and strengthening institutions that settle disputes peacefully.
The process in which experts in a field evaluate a research paper's methods, evidence and conclusions before it is published, to judge its quality and validity.
A network in which devices share data and resources directly with each other, each acting as both client and server, without depending on a central server.
The individuals and groups affected by digital systems, including users, developers, workers and people who face barriers to access, who often make different claims and support different courses of action.
A constructed character or public image that a person or organisation adopts for a particular audience, such as a VTuber's animated character or a computer-generated influencer.
A network that connects devices around one person over a few metres, such as a phone, a smartwatch and wireless earbuds linked by Bluetooth.
A general-purpose computer intended to be used by one person at a time, such as a desktop or laptop.
Adapting the content of marketing, such as the products shown, offers, prices and messages, to each individual, based on data about that person.
Any data that can be used to identify a particular individual, either directly, such as a name or ID number, or indirectly when combined with other data, such as date of birth, postcode and gender.
The point of view from which a person or group sees an issue, shaped by their position, interests, values and experiences.
Digital systems deliberately designed to change users' attitudes or behaviour, for example through notifications, streaks, rewards, autoplay and infinite scrolling.
A form of social engineering that uses fake messages or websites imitating trusted organisations to trick people into revealing passwords, financial details or other sensitive information.
The material world of land, bodies, buildings, roads and objects, in which location and distance can be measured.
A specific location that people have given meaning to through experience, use, memory or identity, such as a home, a school, a city or a long-running online community.
Designing or managing a product so that it becomes outdated, stops working or seems unfashionable after a limited time, which encourages people to replace it sooner.
A digital platform, such as a delivery or ride-hailing app, that is owned and governed democratically by its workers or users rather than by investors.
Economic activity organised through digital platforms that match buyers and sellers of goods, services or labour, with the platform company setting the rules and taking a commission or fee.
The influence a digital platform gains by sitting between large groups of users, such as buyers and sellers or users and advertisers, and controlling the rules, data and algorithms that govern how they connect.
A series of audio episodes published online that listeners can stream or download and subscribe to, so they listen when they choose rather than to a broadcast schedule.
Organised activity by candidates, parties or groups to persuade people to support them, to vote or to back a cause, through speeches, advertisements, events, canvassing and online content.
Any activity by which people try to influence who governs or what governments and other powerful organisations decide, from voting and joining a party to signing petitions, protesting and campaigning online.
The growing distance between political groups, both in their views and in how much they dislike and distrust each other.
Expression about government, politics, elections and public issues, including criticism of officials and policies. It is protected by Article 19 of the UDHR and receives especially strong protection in many legal systems.
Measuring and recording the amount, type and location of pollutants or waste over time, for example with sensors, satellites or reporting systems, so that sources can be identified and action taken.
The forms of entertainment, media, fashion, music and everyday practice that are widely enjoyed and shared by large numbers of people at a particular time.
The change in the size of a population over time, resulting from the balance of births and deaths and of people moving in and out.
Feedback that amplifies a change, so that the system moves further in the same direction; 'positive' describes the direction of the loop, not whether the outcome is good.
Learning that adults undertake after completing their initial formal education, such as professional development, retraining and learning for personal interest, often in non-formal or informal settings.
A society in which most employment and wealth come from services and knowledge rather than from manufacturing, a term associated with the sociologist Daniel Bell (1973).
Encryption methods designed to stay secure even against attacks by future large quantum computers.
The capacity of a person or group to influence or control the actions, choices or beliefs of others, whether by force, rules, rewards, persuasion or by shaping the options available to them.
The component that converts electricity from the mains or a battery into the steady, low-voltage direct current that a computer's parts need.
A measure of a data centre's energy efficiency, found by dividing the total energy the facility uses by the energy used by its computing equipment; a value of 1.0 would mean no energy is used for cooling or other overheads.
A farming approach that uses GPS, sensors, satellite or drone images and data analysis to measure differences within fields and apply water, seed, fertiliser and pesticides only where and when they are needed.
The use of statistical models and algorithms on historical and current data to estimate the likelihood of future outcomes or behaviour.
The use of algorithms that analyse past crime data to forecast where crimes are likely to happen or who is likely to be involved, so that police can direct their resources.
A complete version of a research paper that authors share publicly, usually on an online server, before it has been peer reviewed or published in a journal.
Data collected first-hand by the person or organisation that will use it, for a specific purpose, for example through a survey, interview or observation.
A field, or combination of fields, whose value is unique for each record in a table, so that every record can be identified unambiguously.
First-hand evidence created at the time of an event or by people directly involved, such as a platform's terms of service, census data or an interview.
An algorithm that ranks items by importance or urgency so the most important come first, such as search results or emergency calls.
An approach in which the protection of personal data is built into a digital system from the start and set as the default, rather than added afterwards or left for users to switch on; required in the EU by Article 25 of the GDPR.
A formal language with exact rules of syntax, such as Python or JavaScript, used to write algorithms as programs that computers can carry out.
Change that is judged to make things better according to particular values, such as wealth, health, knowledge, freedom or fairness; it is a value judgement rather than a measurement.
Communication designed to influence people's beliefs and actions in support of a political cause, often by appealing to emotion, repeating simple messages and presenting selected or misleading information.
An agreed set of rules that defines how data is formatted, transmitted, received and checked when devices communicate.
An intermediary server that forwards requests from users to other servers and returns the responses, so that it can filter, log, speed up or hide traffic.
A structured, step-by-step description of an algorithm that resembles a programming language, using keywords such as IF and FOR EACH, but is written for people to read rather than for a computer to run.
Acting online under a consistent name that is not one's legal name, so that actions link to one identity with a reputation while the person's legal identity stays hidden.
Classifying people by personality traits, values and attitudes, rather than only by demographic data such as age and location, often in order to tailor messages to them.