Concepts of data and information

1. Concepts of data and information

2. Topics Covered: Data Data Processing Information Examples of data and information Difference between data and information Characteristics of information Levels of information Classification of information Types of information

3. Data • Data is collection of facts, numbers, or text that can be processed by a computer. • Data is in raw form that is unorganized and not directly useful. • Data can be about an item, person, organization or place.

4. Today, organizations are accumulating vast and growing amounts of data in different formats and different databases. This includes: • operational or transactional data such as, sales, cost, inventory, payroll, and accounting • non-operational data such as industry sales, forecast data, and macro economic data • meta data - data about the data itself, such as logical database design or data dictionary definitions

5. Data Processing: It is the process of converting the data into directly useful form by applying some manipulations and calculations. Data processing can be performed manually or electronically. As an example in business numerous data is collected concerning an aspect of its operations and that this multitude of data must be presented in meaningful, easy-to-access presentations for the managers who must then use that information to increase revenue or to decrease cost. That conversion and presentation of data as information is typically performed by a data processing application.

6. Information: After processing data may be converted into directly useful form or it may require further processing to get the final result. It is an organized collection of numbers, alphabets, symbols, figures or combination of these. Data Data Processing Information Instruction

7. Examples of Data and Information: • In case finding sum of two numbers say 10 and 20, 10 & 20 are data, + is operation/processing, 30 is information. • Records of employee containing name, basic pay, leaves taken etc. act as data. After processing this data, salary slip is generated which act as information. • An invoice has customer’s name, address, order number, quantity ordered, unit price of each item and the total amount of items sold this is data and the invoice becomes information.

8. Difference between Data and Information:

9. Information: It is the processed data on which decisions and actions are based. • Characteristics of Information: • Accuracy:Information should be accurate. Accuracy is the ratio of correct information to the total amount of information produced over a time period. • Form: Information is of value if it is provided to the user in the form it is useful and best understood. • Relevance:It refers to the current utility of information in decision making or problem solving. The information is of value if it is relevant.

10. Timeliness: It means that information should be made available when it is needed for a particular purpose and not before and in any case not after. • Completeness: Information is considered as complete if it tells its users all what he wishes to know about a particular problem. • Purpose: Information must have purpose at the time it is transmitted to a person or machine otherwise it is simply data. • Reliability: The information should be reliable and the external source should be relied upon. • Validity: It measures the closeness of the information to the purpose.

11. Levels of information: Five levels of information: • International level: • Maintained at world level. • e.g. Information of the population maintained at world level, stock market rates at world level . • National level: • Maintained at national level. • Mainly related to country policies. • e.g. Population trend of the country, Energy resources available at national level.

12. Corporate level: • Maintained at organization level. • e.g. Information of sale analysis of the company, list of employees in the company. • Departmental level: • Information which represents working of department. • Mainly related to country policies. • e.g. Population trend of the country. • Individual information: • Information related to an individual. • e.g. name of employee, basic pay and facilities given to employee

13. Classification of information: • Action/Non-action information: Action information: • Action is performed on information received. Non-Action information: • No action is performed. Maintained as data only. • Recurring/Non-recurring information: Recurring information: • Generated at regular intervals. e.g. Periodic reports. Non-recurring information: • Not obtained regularly. This is used only for special purposes.

14. Documentary/Non-documentary information: Documentary information: • Maintained in written form. • Can be obtained on the storage devices. Non-documentary information: • Transmitted in oral form or received by observation. • Internal/External information: Internal information: • Generated and used within the organization. External information: • Obtained from outside the organization.

15. Historical/Future information: Historical information: • Information based on some past events. Future information: • Information based on prediction.

16. Types of information: Three types: • Operational information: • Required for implementing and regulating operational plans within the organization. • Available within the organization. • e.g. Daily schedules, assignments of jobs etc. • Tactical information: • Required for planning the working of the organization. • Required by middle level management. • e.g. information related to sales analysis

17. Strategic information: • Required for long term planning and deciding the working of the organization. • e.g. Planning to change the area of working.

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