What characterizes a raw data file in surveying data management?

• A. Unprocessed data not altered by the computer
• B. Compressed data for storage
• C. Processed and summarized data
• D. Confidential data only

Answer: (A)

The main idea here is that raw data is the original measurements as they were recorded, before any computer processing, editing, or adjustments are applied. In surveying practice, this means the exact values captured by the instrument (such as distances, angles, coordinates, timestamps, and instrument IDs) are kept in their original form and order. This unaltered data serves as the verifiable, auditable source from which all processing and reductions begin. Once you run computations—correcting for instrument errors, applying transformations, adjusting traverses, or summarizing results—you've moved into processed data. The option about compressed storage isn’t what defines raw data, and the idea of processed and summarized data or data restricted to confidentiality doesn’t describe raw data itself.