The differences between data information and knowledge Data

The differences between data, information, and knowledge Data • Data are raw facts or elementary descriptions of things, events, activities, and transactions that are captured, recorded, stored, and classified, but not organized to convey any specific meaning. • Example of data would include bank balances, an employee’s name, number of hours worked in a week, inventory part numbers , or sales orders 2

The differences between data, information, and knowledge Information • Information is a collection of facts (data) organized in such a way that they have additional value beyond the value of the facts themselves. • For example, customer names with bank balances, employee wages with hours worked, a sales forecast, a telephone directory. • In other words, information comes from data that have been processed. • Turning data into information is a process, or a set of logically related tasks performed to achieve a defined outcome. 3

The differences between data, information, and knowledge Knowledge • Consists of information that has been organized and processed to convey understanding, experiences, accumulated learning, or expertise as it applies to a current business problem or process. • The processing of information and is a skill based on previous understanding, procedures and experience. • Knowledge is an awareness and understanding of a set of information and how that information can be made useful to support a specific task. 4

The differences between data, information, and knowledge Knowledge Theorists have identified two different types of knowledge: • Explicit knowledge: knowledge that can be readily expressed and recorded within information system • Tacit knowledge: mainly intangible knowledge that is typically intuitive and not recorded since it is part of the human mind. 5

The process of Transforming Data into Information • • • Processing data is necessary to place them into a meaningful context so that they can be easily understood by the recipient. A number of different data process can be used to transform data into information. Data processes are sometimes also known as ‘transformation processes’ The transformation process Data (applying knowledge by selecting, organizing, and manipulating data) information 6

Data processes Some examples of data processes include the following: • Classification: involves placing data into categories, for example categorizing an expense as either a fixed or a variable cost. • Rearranging/sorting: involves organizing data so that items are grouped together or placed into a particular order. Employee data, for example, might be sorted according to surname or payroll number. • Aggregating: involves summarizing data, for example by calculating averages, totals or subtotals. 7

Data processes • Performing calculations: An example might be calculating an employee’s gross pay by multiplying the number of hours worked by the hourly rate of pay. • Selection: involves choosing or discarding items of data based on a set of selection criteria. A sale organization, for example, might create a list of potential customers by selecting those with incomes. 8

The Characteristics of Valuable Information • Accurate information is error free. In some cases, inaccurate information is generated because inaccurate data is fed into the transformation process (this is commonly called garbage in, garbage out (GIGO). • Complete information contains all of the important facts. For example, an investment report that does not include all important costs is not complete. • Economical Information should be relatively economical to produce. Decision makes must always balance the value of information with the cost of producing it. 9

The Characteristics of Valuable Information • Flexible information can be used for a variety of purposes. For example, information on how much inventory is on and for a particular part can be used by a sales representative in closing a sale, by a production manager to determine whether more inventory is needed, and by a financial executive to determine the total value the company has invested in inventory. • Reliable information can be depended on. In many cases, the reliability of the information depends on the reliability of the data collection method, or the source of the information. 10

The Characteristics of Valuable Information • Relevant information is important to the decision maker. Information that lumber prices might drop may not be relevant to a computer ship manufacturer. • Simple Information should also be simple, not overly complex. Sophisticated and detailed information may not be needed. In fact, too much information cause information overload, where a decision maker has too much information and is unable to determine what is really important. 11

The Characteristics of Valuable Information • Timely information is delivered when it is needed. Knowing last week’s weather conditions will not help when trying to decide what coat to wear today. • verifiable Information should be verifiable. This means that you can check it to make sure it is correct, perhaps by checking many sources for the same information. • Accessible Information should be easily accessible by authorized users to be obtained in the right format and at the right time to meet their needs. • Secure Information should be secure from access by unauthorized users. 12

Qualities of Information • Information can be said to have a number of different characteristics that can be used to describe its quality. • The differences between good and bad information can be identified by considering whether or not it has some or all of the attributes of information quality. • Attributes of information quality: a group of characteristics by which the quality of information can be assessed, normally grouped into categories of time, content and form. 13

Qualities of Information Summary of attributes of information quality Time Content form Additional characteristics Timeliness Currency Frequency Time period Accuracy Relevance Completeness Conciseness Scope Clarity Detail Order Presentation Media Confidence in source Reliability Appropriateness Received by correct person Sent by correct channels 14

Qualities of Information| Time dimension • The time dimension describes the time period that the information deals with and the frequency at which the information is received. § Timeliness: The information should be available when needed. If information is provided too early, it may no longer be current when used. If the information is supplied too late, it will be of no use. § Currency: The information should reflect current circumstances when provided. One can go further and suggest that as well as being up-to-date the information should also indicate those areas or circumstances liable to change by the time the information is used. 15

Qualities of Information| Time dimension § Frequency : The information should be supplied at regular intervals, for example some organizations may require weekly sales reports whilst others need only monthly reports. § Time period : The information should cover the correct time period. A sales forecast, for example, might include information concerning past performance, current performance and predicted performance so that the recipient has a view of past, present and future circumstances. 16

Qualities of Information| Content dimension • The content dimension describes the scope and contents of the information. § Accuracy: Information that contains errors has only limited value to an organization. § Relevance: The information supplied should be relevant to a particular situation and should meet the information needs of the recipient. Extraneous detail can compromise other attributes of information quality, such as conciseness. 17

Qualities of Information| Content dimension § Completeness: All of the information required to meet the information needs of the recipient should be provided. Incomplete information can compromise other attributes of information quality, such as scope and accuracy § Conciseness: The information should be provided in the most compact form possible. As an example, sales figures are normally provided in the form of a graph or table – it would be unusual for them to be supplied as a descriptive passage of text. 18

Qualities of Information| Content dimension § Scope: The scope of the information supplied should be appropriate to the information needs of the recipient. The recipient’s information needs will determine whether the information should concern organizational or external situations and whether it should focus on a specific area or provide a more general overview. 19

Qualities of Information| Form dimension • The form dimension describes how the information is presented to the recipient. § Clarity: The information should be presented in a form that is appropriate to the intended recipient. The recipient should be able to locate specific items quickly and should e able to understand the information easily. § Detail: The information should contain the correct level of detail in order to meet the recipient’s information needs. For example, in some cases highly detailed information will be required whilst in others only a summary will be necessary. 20

Qualities of Information| Form dimension § Order: information should be provided in the correct order. As an example, management reports contain a brief summary at the beginning. This allows a manager to locate and understand the most important aspects of the report before examining it at a higher level of detail. § Presentation: information should be presented in a form that is appropriate to the intended recipient. Different methods can be used to make information clearer and more accessible to the recipient, for example it is common to present numerical information in the form of a graph or table § Media: information should be presented using the correct medium. Formal information, for example, is often presented in the form of a printed report, whereas a presentation might make use of a slide projector. 21

The Hierarchy of Data • Data in a database can be grouped into a hierarchy of categories, each increasingly more complex. • A Database is a logically organized collection of related data designed and built for a specific purpose. • The data hierarchy consists of the levels of data stored in a computer database: § Bits § Characters (bytes) § Fields § Records § Files § Database http: //csbapp. uncw. edu/mis 213/05/5 -2 -3. html 22

The Hierarchy of Data • Bits § The bit is the smallest unit of data the computer can store in a database. § Represented by 0 for off or 1 for on. • Characters § A character (byte) is a letter, number, or special character. § A, B, C, 1, 2, 3, #, $ are examples of single characters. § A combination of bits represents a character. 23

The Hierarchy of Data • Fields § A field is a unit of data consists of one or more characters (bytes). § It is the smallest unit of meaningful information in the database. § Each field has a field name that describes the kind of data that should be entered into the field § An example of a field is your first name , or your social security number. 24

The Hierarchy of Data • Records § A record is a collection of related fields. § Each record stores data about only one entity, which can be a person, a place, a thing, an occurrence. § An example of a record would be your name and address and social security number. https: //geodata. ethz. ch/resources/tutorials/L 4 Geodata. Management/en/html/unit_u 2 Data. Mana. html 25

The Hierarchy of Data • Files § A file is a collection of related records. § For example, an employee file is a collection of all company employee records. § Likewise, an inventory file is a collection of all inventory records for a particular company or organization. http: //www. querysurge. com/solutions/data-interface-testing 26

The Hierarchy of Data • Database § The highest level of data hierarchy. § A collection of integrated and related files. § Together, bits, character, fields, records, files, and databases form the hierarchy of data. § A database houses not only all these levels of data but the relationships among them. https: //geodata. ethz. ch/resources/tutorials/ L 4 Geodata. Management/en/html/unit_u 2 Data. Mana. html 27

Data access methods: The two main types of data access are sequential and direct. § Sequential storage: o data is stored and retrieved in sequence, such as alphabetically. Tape storage falls in the category of sequential storage. Thus, if you are looking for employee no. 8888 on a tape, the computer will have to start with 0001, then go past 0002, 0003, and so on, until it finally comes to 8888. o This method is less expensive than other methods o Searching for data is slow. 28

Data access methods: § Direct access storage: o The computer can go directly to the information you want– just as a CD player can go directly to a particular track on a music CD. o The data is retrieved according to the key field. o This method is used with hard disks and other types of disks. o Direct file access is much faster than sequential access. 29

The types of files • Files are given names – filenames. • Filenames also have extension names. • These extensions of usually three letters are added after a period following the filename. • For example, the. doc is recognized by Microsoft Word as a “document”. • There are many kinds of files, but two principal ones are program files and data files. 30

The types of files Program Files • Program files are files containing software instructions. • Examples are word processing or spreadsheet programs, which are made up of several different program files • The two most important are source program files and executable files. 31

The types of files | Program Files Source program file • Contain high-level computer instructions in the original form written by the programmer, • Some source program files have the extension of the language in which they are written, such as. bas for BASIC, or. jav for Java. Executable File • For the processor to use source program instructions. They must be translated into an executable file, which contains the instructions that tell the computer how to perform a particular task. • Identify an executable files by its extension, . exe. 32

The types of files Data Files Data files are files that contain data. For example, words, numbers, pictures, sounds There are the files used in databases. Unlike program files, data files don’t instruct the computer to do anything. Rather, data files are there to be acted on by program files. • Examples of common extensions in data files are. txt, . xls, . docx, . ppt • Among the several types of data files, two are commonly used to update data in a database: Master file and Transacion file. • • 33

The types of files | Data Files Master file • The master file is a data file containing relatively permanent records that are generally updated periodically. • An example of a master file is the address-label file for all students currently enrolled at the college. Transaction file • The transaction file is a temporary holding file that holds all changes to be made to the master files: additions, deletions, revisions. • For example, in the case of the address labels for college, a transaction file would hold new names and addresses to be added (because over time new students enroll). 34

Database Management Systems • A database management system (DBMS) refers to software written specifically to control the structure of a database and access to the data. • A DBMS consists of a group of programs that manipulate the database and provide an interface between the database and the user or the database and other application programs. • A database, a DBMS, and the application programs that utilize the data in the database make up a database environment. 35

Database Management Systems The advantage of DBMS • Reduced data redundancy § The database approach can reduce or eliminate data redundancy. § Data is organized by the DBMS and stored in only one location. § This results in more efficient utilization of system storage space. • Improved data integrity § With the traditional approach, some change to data were not reflected in all copies of the data kept in separate files. § This is prevented with the database approach because there are no separate file that contain copies of the same piece of data. 36

Database Management Systems The advantage of DBMS • Easier modification and updating § With the traditional approach, the DBMS coordinates updates and data modifications. § Programmer and users do not have to know where the data is physically stored. Data is stored and modified once. § Modification and updating is also easier because the data is stored at only one location in most cases. • Shared data and information resources § The cost of hardware, software, and personnel can be spread over a large number of applications and users. 37

Database Management Systems The advantage of DBMS • Data and program independence § The DBMS organizes the data independently of the application program. § With the database approach, the application program is not affected by the location or type of data. • Better overall protection of the data § The use of and access to centrally located data are easier to monitor and control. § Security codes and passwords can ensure that only authorized people have access to particular data and information in the database, thus ensuring privacy. 38

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References Turban, E. , Rainer, R. and Potter, R. (2003) Introduction to Information technology, 2 nd edition, John Wiley, New York. Stair, R. and Reynolds, G. (1999) Principles of Information Systems: a managerial approach, 4 th edition, Course Technology, Cambridge. Bocij, P. , Chafffey, D. , Greasley, A. and Hickie, S. (2006) Business Information System: Technology, development and management for the e-business, 3 rd edition, Prentice Hall, Harlow, England. William, B. and Sawyer, S. (2005) Using Information Technology: a practical introduction to computers & communications, 6 th edition, Mc. Graw-Hill Technology Education, Boston. 40