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What is the difference?

Data are the observations collected during a research project. They are used to test hypotheses through statistical analysis. A structured, organized set of data is called a dataset

  • Microdata are the original, unprocessed observations, e.g. the individual income of 100 people 
  • Aggregate data are summarizations of those observations, e.g. the average income of 100 people 

Statistics are interpretations of the data, often presented as facts, figures, time series, tables, charts, or graphs. They are the result of the analysis of either microdata or aggregated data.