Organization of Information – Topic One

Data → Information → Knowledge → Wisdom (DIKW) Pyramid

• Core progression from raw signals to actionable insight.
  • Data
  • Individual symbols, lines, characters, figures, or measurements.
  • Unprocessed, with no inherent meaning to the receiver.
  • Example raw value: $(\text{Red})$ (traffic-light colour vector).
  • Information
  • Result of analysis, synthesis, and evaluation of data.
  • Data are organized, structured, condensed, categorized, and placed in context.
  • Can incorporate images, text, documents, sound.
  • Example: “South-facing traffic light on the corner of Pitt and George Streets has turned red.”
  • Knowledge
  • Synthesized information that has been compared, discussed, reflected upon.
  • Entails principles, patterns, and the potential for application.
  • Example: “When a south-facing traffic light turns red, cars on that approach must stop.”
  • Wisdom
  • Evaluated understanding; judgement between right↔wrong, good↔bad.
  • Integrates experience for improved decision-making.
  • Example actionable insight: “I’d better stop the car.”

Expanded DIKW Scenario (Page Illustration)

• Raw data symbol: $(\text{Red})$.
• Information (meaning layer): exact location + state of light.
• Context: “The traffic light I am driving toward has turned red.”
• Knowledge: traffic rules + experiential learning.
• Wisdom: choose the safe behaviour (apply brakes).
• Arbitrary numeric illustration in slide: $(4331)$ (serves as a placeholder for numeric data).

Formal Definitions

• Data
  • “Symbols, lines, characters that can be captured by humans but cannot give meaning.”
  • Pure facts and figures; uninterpreted.
• Information
  • “Assemblage of data in comprehensible form, capable of communication.”
  • Purpose: change receiver’s perception, alter judgement/behaviour.
• Knowledge
  • General awareness or possession of truths/principles.
  • Results from study or experience; involves application of information.
• Wisdom
  • Evaluated, value-laden understanding; discernment and ethical judgement.

Key Attributes of Information

• Commodity
  • Can be bought, sold, exchanged, patented, owned, stored.
  • Unlike physical goods, not depleted through use.
• Expansion
  • Usage often expands information’s reach and quantity.
  • Potential demand considered unlimited.
• Resource
  • Holds personal, organisational, and national value.
  • Modern economies rely on information alongside physical resources.

Motivations for Seeking Information

• Gain knowledge.
• Solve problems.
• Collect additional data for analysis.

Lexical Clarifications

• “Information” often synonymous with news, communication, words, specific event descriptions.
• “Knowledge” framed as:
  1. State/fact of knowing.
  2. Familiarity/awareness from study/experience.
  3. Sum total of what has been perceived or inferred.

Necessity of Organization

• Retrieval depends on prior organisation; without it, information lacks usability.
• Humans possess an inherent organisational instinct.
• Organised information becomes a collection of usable records for future civilisations.
• Common retrieval tools: directories, encyclopaedias, catalogues.

Organization of Information ≈ Bibliographic Control

• “Skill or art of organising knowledge (information) for retrieval.”
• Core aim: keep track of all items in a collection so they can be found when needed.

Hagler’s Six Major Activities of Bibliographic Control

1. Identify the existence of all types of information resources as they appear.
2. Identify the works contained within or as parts of those resources.
3. Aggregate resources systematically into coherent collections.
4. Produce lists (bibliographies, catalogues, indexes) following standard citation rules.
5. Provide access points—name, title, subject, keywords, controlled vocabularies, authority control for variant spellings or synonyms.
6. Supply location tools so users can physically or digitally locate each resource or its copy.

Practical Implementations & Tools

• Bibliographies, indexes, library catalogues, archival finding aids, museum registers.
• Keyword searching against databases with controlled vocabularies (titles, names, subjects).
• Union catalogues representing group/single-library holdings.
• Online library systems showing physical location + circulation status.
• Personal/institutional collections (LAN file shares, websites, archives).
• Announcement channels: publishers’ notices, email alerts, reviews, books-in-print.

Real-World & Ethical Dimensions

• Information intended to influence perception & behaviour; designers must consider ethical ramifications.
• Wisdom layer emphasises moral judgement—critical when applying knowledge (e.g., safety decisions in traffic, medical dosing, financial trades).
• Ownership & commodification raise issues of access inequality and intellectual property rights.

Numerical/Statistical References

• Example slide numbers: $(01)$, $(02)$, $(03)$ indicate ordered characteristics rather than quantitative measures.
• Hagler’s activities count: $(6)$ major tasks.
• Illustration integer: $(4331)$ (contextual numeric datum with no elaboration provided in transcript).

Key Take-Home Messages

• Data alone are inert; context + organisation transform them into information.
• Knowledge emerges from synthesising and applying information.
• Wisdom constitutes ethical, value-based application of knowledge.
• Bibliographic control is foundational for discovering, accessing, and preserving recorded knowledge.
• Effective information organisation underpins modern economies, research, and daily decision-making.