This document discusses basic concepts of information and information systems. It defines information as meaningfully interpreted data that provides useful messages. An information system gathers and disseminates data to users. A management information system specifically processes organizational data to provide useful information to management for decision making. The document also distinguishes between data, which are unprocessed facts, and information, which is interpreted, organized data that has meaning and value. Finally, it discusses common techniques for collecting data like surveys, secondary sources, tests, and interviews.