Raw data is a term for data collected from a source. Raw data have not been subjected to processing or any other manipulation, and are also referred to as primary data. Raw data is a relative term (see data). Raw data can be input to a computer program or used in manual procedures such as analyzing statistics from a survey. The term can refer to the binary data on electronic storage devices such as hard disk drives (also referred to as low-level data).

In computing, raw data may have the following attributes: possibly containing errors, not validated; in different (colloquial) formats; uncoded or unformatted; and suspect, requiring confirmation or citation. For example, a data input sheet might contain dates as raw data in many forms: "31st January 1999", "31/01/1999", "31/1/99", "31 Jan", or "today". Once captured, these raw data may be processed stored as a normalized format, perhaps a Julian date, so as to be easier for computers and humans to interpret during later processing.

Raw data (sometimes called "sourcey" data or "eggy" data) are the data input to processing. A distinction is sometimes made between data and information to the effect that information is the end product of data processing. Raw data that has undergone processing are sometimes referred to as "cooked" data.

Raw is a term referring to food that has not been cooked.

RAW or Raw may refer to:

Data ( /ˈdeɪtə/ DAY-tə, /ˈdætə/ DA-tə, or /ˈdɑːtə/ DAH-tə) are values of qualitative or quantitative variables, belonging to a set of items. Data in computing (or data processing) are often represented by a combination of items organized in rows and multiple variables organized in columns. Data are typically the results of measurements and can be visualised using graphs or images. Data as an abstract concept can be viewed as the lowest level of abstraction from which information and then knowledge are derived. Raw data, i.e., unprocessed data, refers to a collection of numbers, characters and is a relative term; data processing commonly occurs by stages, and the "processed data" from one stage may be considered the "raw data" of the next. Field data refers to raw data collected in an uncontrolled in situ environment. Experimental data refers to data generated within the context of a scientific investigation by observation and recording.

The word data is the plural of datum, neuter past participle of the Latin dare, "to give", hence "something given". In discussions of problems in geometry, mathematics, engineering, and so on, the terms givens and data are used interchangeably. Such usage is the origin of data as a concept in computer science or data processing: data are numbers, words, images, etc., accepted as they stand.