12/16/23, 12:11 AM MIS - Basic Information Concepts
MIS - Basic Information Concepts
Information can be defined as meaningfully interpreted data. If we give you a number
1-212-290-4700, it does not make any sense on its own. It is just a raw data. However
if we say Tel: +1-212-290-4700, it starts making sense. It becomes a telephone
number. If I gather some more data and record it meaningfully like −
Address: 350 Fifth Avenue, 34th floor
New York, NY 10118-3299 USA
Tel: +1-212-290-4700
Fax: +1-212-736-1300
It becomes a very useful information - the address of New York office of Human Rights
Watch, a non-profit, non-governmental human rights organization.
So, from a system analyst's point of view, information is a sequence of symbols that
can be construed to a useful message.
An Information System is a system that gathers data and disseminates information
with the sole purpose of providing information to its users.
The main object of an information system is to provide information to its users.
Information systems vary according to the type of users who use the system.
A Management Information System is an information system that evaluates,
analyzes, and processes an organization's data to produce meaningful and useful
information based on which the management can take right decisions to ensure future
growth of the organization.
Information Definition
According to Wikipedia −
"Information can be recorded as signs, or transmitted as signals. Information is any
kind of event that affects the state of a dynamic system that can interpret the
information.
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12/16/23, 12:11 AM MIS - Basic Information Concepts
Conceptually, information is the message (utterance or expression) being
conveyed. Therefore, in a general sense, information is "Knowledge communicated
or received, concerning a particular fact or circumstance". Information cannot be
predicted and resolves uncertainty."
Information Vs Data
Data can be described as unprocessed facts and figures. Plain collected data as raw
facts cannot help in decision-making. However, data is the raw material that is
organized, structured, and interpreted to create useful information systems.
Data is defined as 'groups of non-random symbols in the form of text, images, voice
representing quantities, action and objects'.
Information is interpreted data; created from organized, structured, and processed
data in a particular context.
According to Davis and Olson −
"Information is a data that has been processed into a form that is meaningful to
recipient and is of real or perceived value in the current or the prospective action or
decision of recipient."
Information, Knowledge and Business Intelligence
Professor Ray R. Larson of the School of Information at the University of California,
Berkeley, provides an Information Hierarchy, which is −
Data − The raw material of information.
Information − Data organized and presented by someone.
Knowledge − Information read, heard, or seen, and understood.
Wisdom − Distilled and integrated knowledge and understanding.
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12/16/23, 12:11 AM MIS - Basic Information Concepts
Scott Andrews' explains Information Continuum as follows −
Data − A Fact or a piece of information, or a series thereof.
Information − Knowledge discerned from data.
Business Intelligence − Information Management pertaining to an organization's
policy or decision-making, particularly when tied to strategic or operational
objectives.
Information/Data Collection Techniques
The most popular data collection techniques include −
Surveys − A questionnaires is prepared to collect the data from the field.
Secondary data sources or archival data: Data is collected through old records,
magazines, company website etc.
Objective measures or tests − An experimental test is conducted on the subject
and the data is collected.
Interviews − Data is collected by the system analyst by following a rigid
procedure and collecting the answers to a set of pre-conceived questions
through personal interviews.
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