The document discusses key concepts around information including data, information, knowledge, and metadata. It explains that data is raw facts and figures without context, while information is processed data that has meaning. Knowledge is derived from understanding information. Metadata describes other data. The document also outlines characteristics of high-quality information such as accuracy, reliability, relevance, completeness, and timeliness. Overall, the document provides an introduction to foundational concepts in information management.

1. Introduction
 Information and knowledge are so important nowadays that
society can be divided up into two groups.
 Information rich – those who have access to:
 many TV and radio channels
 books, newspapers and journals
 computers and the World Wide Web.
 Information poor – those who:
 tend to not have access to the Web and
probably find it difficult to access relevant
books and journals.
 If you are following this course you will probably be 1
information rich.

2. Learning Objectives
Throughout this unit we will learn about the nature and uses
of information by looking at:
 Differences between Data and Information
 Organisational Information Systems
 Information Management Software
 Implications of Information and Communications
Technology.
2

3. Learning Intentions
By the end of this topic you will know:
The differences between data and information
What knowledge is
What metadata is
How information is categorised
Characteristics which affect the quality of
information
3

4. Data and Information
 Data is raw unprocessed facts and figures that
have no context or purposeful meaning.
 Information is processed data that has meaning
and a context.
Data Information
36.41 £36.41 – bill for DVDs
Binary patterns on a Processed data – e.g. display on
disc screen, icons, etc.
4

5. Data and Information
 A single unit or item of data is called a datum
 It is one or more symbols used to represent
something.
5

6. Knowledge
 Knowledge is derived from Information
We gain knowledge from information and we use that
information to make decisions.
 Explicit knowledge is rules or processes or decisions
that can be recorded either on paper or in an
information system.
 Tacit knowledge exists inside the minds of humans and
is harder to record. It tends to be created from
someone’s experiences, so again is a set of rules or
experiences.
6

7. Metadata
 Metadata can be thought of as data
that describes data. It is structured
information about a resource.
 Examples
 a data dictionary
 A meta tag in a web page contains
information about the contents of the web
page.
 the card index system used by libraries
before computerisation, where each card 7

8. LI - Categorisation of Information
 Information can be categorised under
several headings that allow us to
determine its overall usefulness.
 Main categories
 Frequency
Source
 Use
Nature
 Form
Level
 Type.
Time
8

9. Source – Primary or Secondary
 A primary source provides the data to an information system
from an original source document.
• e.g. an invoice sent to a business or a cheque received.
• sales figures for a range of goods for a tinned food manufacturer
for one week or several weeks and one or several locations.
 A secondary source of information is one that provides
information from a source other than the original.
• e.g. an accounts book detailing invoices received, or a
bank statement that shows details of cheques paid in.
Where statistical information is gathered, such as in surveys or
polls, the survey data or polling data is the primary source and the9
conclusions reached from the survey or the results of the poll are

10. Source – Internal
 All organisations generate a substantial amount of
internal information relating to their operation.
 Examples of internal sources:
Marketing and sales information on
performance, revenues, market share,
distribution channels, etc.
Production and operational information on
assets, quality, standards, etc.
Financial information on profits, costs,
margins, cash flows, investments, etc.
Internal documentation such as order forms,
invoices, credit notes, procedural manuals. 10

11. Source – External
 An external source of information is concerned with
what is happening beyond the boundaries of the
organisation.
• census figures • telephone directories
• judgments on court cases • computer users’ yearbook
• legislation, e.g. the Data • gallup & national opinion polls
Protection Act
• Ordnance Survey maps
• trade journals
• Financial services agencies such
• professional publications as Dunn and Bradstreet
• industry standards • the Internet
11

12. Nature
 Formal Communication
 information presented in a structured
and consistent manner
 main methods
the formal letter, properly structured
reports, writing of training materials, etc. in
cogent, coherent, well-structured language.
 Informal Communication
 less well-structured information
transmitted within an organisation or
between individuals who usually know each 12

13. Nature
 Quantitative Information
 information that is represented numerically.
 Qualitative Information

information that is represented using words.
13

14. Levels of Use of Information
Long-term decisions - both
internal & external sources
Top level of management
STRATEGIC Medium-term decisions - mostly
internal but some external
sources
TACTICAL Middle management
Day-to-day decisions -
largely internal sources
OPERATIONAL Lowest level of staff
14

15. Time
 Historic
 Information gathered and stored over a period of time.
 It allows decision makers to draw comparisons between
previous and present activities.
 Historic information can be used to identify trends over a period
of time.
 Present
 Information created from activities during the current work-
window (day, week or month).
 In real-time systems this information would be created instantly
from the data gathered (e.g. the temperature in a nuclear power
plant turbine) giving accurate and up-to-date information.
 Future
 Information that is created using present and historic
information to try to predict the future activities and events
relating to the operation of an organisation.
15

16. Frequency of Information
 Continuous
 This is information created from data gathered several times a
second. It is the type of information created by a real-time system.
 Periodic
 Information created at regular time intervals (hourly, daily,
monthly, annually).
 Annually – On an annual basis a company must submit its
report and accounts to the shareholders.
 Monthly – Banks and credit card companies produce monthly
statements for the majority of their customers.
 Daily – A supermarket will make daily summaries of its sales
and use the product information to update its stock levels and
reorder stock automatically.
 Hourly – A busy call centre will often update totals for each
operator on an hourly basis and give the top employee for the
hour some reward.
16

17. Uses of Information within Organisations
 Planning is the process of deciding, in advance, what has to
be done and how it
is to be done.
 Planning is decisions by management about:
 What is to be done in the future
 How to do it
 When to do it
 Who is to do it
 An objective is something that needs to
be achieved.
 A plan describes the activities or actions required to achieve
the objective.
17

18. Uses of Information within Organisations
 Control is the monitoring and evaluation of current progress
against the steps of a pre-defined plan or standard.
 Operational level
 the manager’s time will be spent on control activities
 At higher levels
 planning and control are more closely linked, with
management being concerned with the monitoring of
progress against the plan, assessing the suitability of the
plan itself, and predicting future conditions.
18

19. Uses of Information within Organisations
 Decision-making –
 means selecting an action or actions from those
possible based on the information available.
 involves determining and examining the available
actions and then selecting the most appropriate actions
in order to achieve the required results.
 is an essential part of management and is carried out at
all levels of management for all tasks.
 is made up of four phases:
• Finding occasions for decision making
• Finding possible courses of action
• Choosing among these courses of action
• Evaluating past choices.
19

20. Forms of Information
 Written
 Hand-written, word-processed, e-mails.
 Reports from different classes of software.
 Reports, memos and tables, receipts, invoices, statements, summary
accounting information.
 Aural
 Speech, formal meetings, informal meetings, talking on the phone and
voice-mail messages.
 Employee presentations to a group where there may be use made of music
and sound effects as well as speech.
 Visual
 pictures, charts and graphs.
 Presentations via data projects, DVDs, etc.
20

21. Types of Information
 Detailed
 An inventory list showing stock levels
 Actual costs to the penny of goods
 Detailed operating instructions
 Most often used at operational level
 Sampled
 Selected records from a database
 Product and sales summaries in a supermarket
 Often used at a tactical level (maybe strategic)
 Aggregated
 Totals created when detailed information is summed
together
 Details of purchases made by customers totalled each
month
21

22. LI - Characteristics of Information
 There are 8 main characteristics of  Completeness
information
 Accuracy
 Not all information has all the
characteristics
 Timing
 Conciseness
 Always use the example given when
answering
 Reliability
 Relevance
 You may have to make assumptions
when answering questions  Availability
 Presentation
Use CATCRRAP mnemonic
22

23. Availability / Accessibility
 Information should be easy to obtain or access
for use when required
 How to write about it:
 state the information item
 state whether the info is available/accessible or not
 give your reason why
 eg. if on-line it is very accessible, but need
hardware
if on paper, only accessible to those who have the
paper copy. 23

24. Accuracy
 Information needs to be accurate enough for
the use to which it is going to be put.
 How to write about it:
state the information item
state whether the info is Accurate or not
Generally professional/Government bodies provide
accurate info
Adverts are supposed to be accurate
Internally created info is open to debate
Websites must be treated with caution 24

25. Reliability or Objectivity
 Reliability deals with the truth of the
information or the objectivity with which it is
presented.
 How to write about it:
state the information item
state whether the info is reliable or not
a trusted source will usually provide reliable info
internal info ie. e-mails are usually reliable
Websites must be treated with caution
25

26. Relevance / Appropriateness
 Information should be relevant to the purpose
for which it is required. It must be suitable.
 How to write about it:
state the information item
state whether the info is relevant to the purpose it is
intended or not
26

27. Completeness
 Information should contain all details required
by the user.
 How to write about it:
state the information item
state whether the info is complete or not
if not state what might be missing and the problems
this would cause to the user of the info
27

28. Level of Detail / Conciseness
 Information should be in a form that is short
enough to allow for its examination and use.
There should be no extraneous information.
 How to write about it:
state the information item
state whether the info is concise or not
if not describe the amount of time that would be
wasted reading irrelevant info
If it is describe the info that is needed for the task
28

29. Presentation
 Information can be more easily assimilated if it is
aesthetically pleasing.
 How to write about it:
state the information item
state whether the info is well presented or not
if it is well presented describe how this will aid the
user in digesting the info
If not, describe how this will cause difficulty in
reading and digesting the info
29

30. Timing
 Information must be on time for the purpose for
which it is required. Information received too
late will be irrelevant.
 How to write about it:
state the information item
state whether the info is on time or not
Give reasons for your answer
30

31. Value and Cost
 Value
 The relative importance of information for decision-making can
increase or decrease its value to an organisation.
 Cost
 Information should be available within set cost levels that may
vary dependent on situation.
 The difference between value and cost
 Valuable information need not cost much.
 Information costly to obtain may not have much value.
31

32. You need to know:
 There are 8 main characteristics of  Completeness
information
 Accuracy
 Not all information has all the
characteristics  Timing
 Conciseness
 Always use the example given when
answering  Reliability
 Relevance
 You may have to make assumptions
when answering questions  Availability
 Presentation
Use CATCRRAP mnemonic

33. Availability / Accessibility
 Information should be easy to obtain or access
for use when required
 How to write about it:
 state the information item
 state whether the info is available/accessible or not
 give your reason why
 eg. if on-line it is very accessible, but need hardware
if on paper, only accessible to those who have the
paper copy.

34. Accuracy
 Information needs to be accurate enough for
the use to which it is going to be put.
 How to write about it:
state the information item
state whether the info is Accurate or not
Generally professional/Government bodies provide
accurate info
Adverts are supposed to be accurate
Internally created info is open to debate
Websites must be treated with caution

35. Reliability or Objectivity
 Reliability deals with the truth of the
information or the objectivity with which it is
presented.
 How to write about it:
state the information item
state whether the info is reliable or not
a trusted source will usually provide reliable info
internal info ie. e-mails are usually reliable
Websites must be treated with caution

36. Relevance / Appropriateness
 Information should be relevant to the purpose
for which it is required. It must be suitable.
 How to write about it:
state the information item
state whether the info is relevant to the purpose it is
intended or not

37. Completeness
 Information should contain all details required
by the user.
 How to write about it:
state the information item
state whether the info is complete or not
if not state what might be missing and the problems
this would cause to the user of the info

38. Level of Detail / Conciseness
 Information should be in a form that is short
enough to allow for its examination and use.
There should be no extraneous information.
 How to write about it:
state the information item
state whether the info is concise or not
if not describe the amount of time that would be
wasted reading irrelevant info
If it is describe the info that is needed for the task

39. Presentation
 Information can be more easily assimilated if it is
aesthetically pleasing.
 How to write about it:
state the information item
state whether the info is well presented or not
if it is well presented describe how this will aid the
user in digesting the info
If not, describe how this will cause difficulty in
reading and digesting the info

40. Timing
 Information must be on time for the purpose for
which it is required. Information received too
late will be irrelevant.
 How to write about it:
state the information item
state whether the info is on time or not
Give reasons for your answer

41. Value and Cost
 Value
 The relative importance of information for decision-
making can increase or decrease its value to an
organisation.
 Cost
 Information should be available within set cost levels
that may vary dependent on situation.
 The difference between value and cost
 Valuable information need not cost much.
 Information costly to obtain may not have much
value.