CHAPTER 2: Introduction to Information, Information Science, and Information Systems

Data vs. Information:

  • Data - Raw facts.

  • Information:

    • Processed data that has meaning.

    • Data that is processed using knowledge.

    • To be valuable or meaningful, information must be accessible, accurate, timely, complete, cost effective, flexible, reliable, relevant, simple, verifiable, and secure.

Data Integrity:

  • Refers to whole, complete, correct, and consistent data.

  • Can be compromised through human error, viruses, worms, other bugs, hardware failures or crashes, transmission errors, and/or hackers entering the system.

High Quality Data:

  • Data that are relevant and accurately represent their corresponding concepts.

  • Data are considered dirty when there are errors in the database, such as duplicate, incomplete, or outdated records.

  • The data that we process into information must be of high quality and integrity to create meaning to inform our assessments and decision making.

Quality of Information:

  • Necessary for it to be valuable and meaningful.

  • Characteristics of valuable, quality information:

    • Accessibility, security, timeliness, accuracy, relevancy, completeness, flexibility, reliability, objectivity, utility, transparency, verifiability, and reproducibility

Information Science:

  • Science of information, studying the application and usage of information and knowledge in organizations and the interfacings or interaction between people, organizations, and information systems.

  • Information science enables the processing of information.

  • A multidisciplinary science that involves aspects from computer science, cognitive science, social science, communication science, and library science.

  • Deals with obtaining, gathering, organizing, manipulating, managing, storing, retrieving, recapturing, disposing of, distributing, or broadcasting information

  • Studies everything that deals with information and can be defined as the study of information systems.

  • Originated as a subdiscipline of computer science, in an attempt to understand and rationalize the management of technology within organizations.

Information Processing:

  • The conversion of latent information into manifest information.

  • Latent information is that which is not yet realized or apparent.

  • Manifest information is obvious or clearly apparent.

  • Information science and computational tools are extremely important in enabling the processing of data, information, and knowledge in health care.

Information System (IS):

  • Combinations of hardware, software, and telecommunications networks that people build and use to collect, create, and distribute useful data, typically in organizational settings.

  • Can be manually based, but for the purposes of this text, the term refers to computer-based information systems (CBISs).

  • Designed for specific purposes within organizations.

  • Acquires data or inputs; processes data that consists of the retrieval, analysis, and/or synthesis of data; disseminates or outputs in the form of reports, documents, summaries, alerts, prompts, and/or outcomes; and provides for responses or feedback.

  • Capable of disseminating, providing feedback, and adjusting the data and information based on dynamic processes; this sets them apart.

  • Should be a user-friendly entity that provides the right information at the right time and in the right place.