public function getOriginalData()
    {

        // initialize the array for the original data
        $originalData = array();

        // query whether or not the column contains original data
        if ($this->hasOriginalData()) {
            // unerialize the original data from the column
            $originalData = unserialize($this->row[$this->headers[ColumnKeys::ORIGINAL_DATA]]);
        }

        // return an empty array, if not
        return $originalData;
    }