Empirical Data (Objective, Verifiable, Reproducible)
Hunt for the Objective/Empirical data, it is the foundation of accurate decisions and analysis.
EMPIRICAL DATA is generally KNOWLEDGE (see Maslow hierarchy). If correctly identified, it is reproducible even by dissenting parties.
- RAW DATA
- Untested, unverified data presented, found, or extracted directly or indirectly.
- INFORMATION
- Raw data verified through careful testing and review by multiple independent peers
- KNOWLEDGE
- Information proven by multiple independent sources. It may be applied as base knowledge later to aid the understanding of more complex activities and decision making.
See the “Normative Data (Subjective)” article for the opposite data type. Normative data is almost always analysis, not data. It is commonly emotional, reflexive, and unsupported.
Most source’s data may provide varying levels of usefulness. Each additional data point can move you closer to the truth by turning your attention to things that you would not necessarily have known about or considered. The more data points that you log, the more granular your answer will be. More quality KNOWLEDGE in the data set, the better your analysis at the end. As a skilled gatherer, you must hone your skills to parse the normative from the empirical. You must rapidly test and validate the empirical data, and discard any that fails the test.
No matter what your inherent biases are, if you stick to the facts, the truth will always shine through. About ten years into my career as a professional information gatherer, my ideas about “facts” evolved. I realized that the only reliable “facts,” the evidence was derived from the compilation of an abundance of empirical data points. Those data points, not always duplicated, would inevitably establish a particular pattern of data that builds, in my mind, “a preponderance of evidence.” The empirical data, if gathered under strict methodologies, is as close as possible to unbiased “fact.”
Forty years of investigative “fact-finding” has taught me that the closest that we will come to “facts” is repeated, clearly identifiable patterns. Those patterns betray even the most carefully laid attempts to hide or obscure the truth. Those patterns also reveal a more profound truth, “intent,” “willfulness,” and premeditation. A professional information gatherer can present the totality of the empirical data and then allow others to witness the “facts” and test them on their own. They don’t fear their peers testing their conclusions, and they relish the opportunity to better themselves.
