The Data Terms Glossary

A growing compendium of data terms, questions, and—most importantly—their definitions. Visit the HR Glossary to discover commonly used terms in the human resources industry.

Augmented Analytics

Augmented analytics is a type of data analytics that leverages artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities like machine learning (ML) and natural language processing (NLP) to analyze increasingly sophisticated and large quantities of data. 

Data Cleaning

Data cleaning, also called data cleansing or data scrubbing, is the process of preparing data to be stored and analyzed to ensure maximum reliability, validity, and overall quality.

Data Management

Data management is the process of gathering and using data in efficient, effective, and reliable ways. In HR or people analytics, data management ensures that people decisions are made based on accurate, reliable, and high-quality data.  

Data Mapping

Data mapping is the process of connecting data fields in one source with data fields in another source. Data mapping is a critical step to reduce errors and standardize data.

Data Preprocessing

Data preprocessing refers to any type of processing that is done to raw data to get it ready for another data procedure. Simply put, data preprocessing is the processing of turning raw source data into a clean data set.

Visual Analytics

Visual analytics is the use of specialty tools and processes to analyze and present data visually. This process uses data visualization to show information in visually appealing ways to make it easier and quicker for users to understand what the data is telling them. Visual depictions of data can include anything from simple charts and graphs, to maps and more creative visualizations like infographics.