Journal of Knowledge Management Practice, Vol. 8, No.

2, June 2007

Understanding Data, Information, Knowledge And Their Inter-Relationships

Anthony Liew, Walden University

ABSTRACT: Knowledge, Information, and Data are key words and also fundamental concepts in knowledge management, intellectual capital, and organizational learning. This paper includes the reasons for vagueness and confusion commonly associated with those key terms, proposed definitions of the key terms, and two models of their transformations and interactions. Keywords: Knowledge management, intellectual capital, organizational learning, knowledge, data, information

1.

Introduction

Despite many attempts at the definition of Data, Information, and Knowledge, there still seems to be a lack of a clear and complete picture of what they are and the relationships between them. Although many definitions are relevant, they are far from being complete. It is not the intention of this paper to criticize those whom have paved the way to better understanding of the topic. Rather, the goal is to provide a different or new perspective in the context of business and knowledge management. Below is a table of various definitions of Data, Information, and Knowledge from different authors. The table also includes definitions from Websters Collegiate Dictionary. Most if not all of the definitions shared a common anomaly; they are defined with each other, i.e. data in terms of information, information is defined in terms of data &/or knowledge, and knowledge is defined in terms of information. If we are just describing the inter-relationships, that is all very well. However, with regard to definitions, this is a logical fallacy i.e. circular definitions or argumentations. (It is in Philosophy 101 Critical Thinking and Reasoning).

Table 1: Definition Information Data

Data is comprised of the basic, unrefined, and generally unfiltered information Information is much more refined data that has evolved to the point of being useful for some form of analysis Knowledge Nirvana Achieving The Competitive Advantage Through Enterprise Content Management and Optimizing Team Collaboration; by Juris Kelley, 2002, Xulon Press Davenport and Prusak An Intelligent have come up with this Organization definition of knowledge: it Integrating Performance, is a mixture of organized Competence and experiences, values, Knowledge Management; information and insights by Pentti offering a framework to Sydanmaanlakka, 2002, evaluate new experiences Capstone Publishing and information Knowledge resides in the userhappens only when human experience and insight is applied to data and information

Knowledge

Source

Information: Processed Knowledge: Actionable data formalized, capture information often and explicated; can easily emerges in minds of be packaged into reusable people through their form experiences

The Essential Guide to Knowledge Management E - Business and CRM Applications; by Amrit Tiwana, 2001, Prentice Hall Information is data put in Knowledge Enabling Knowledge context; it is related to encompasses the belief s Creation How to Unlock other pieces of data. of groups or individuals, the Mystery of Tacit Information is about and it is intimately tied to Knowledge and Release meaning, and it forms the action the Power of Innovation; basis for knowledge by Georg Von Krogh, Ichijo, and Nonaka, 2000,

Oxford University Press Information has been Knowledge is defined defined as data that is in as the meaningful links formation that is, data people make in their that has been stored, minds between analyzed, and displayed, information and its and is communicated application in action in a through spoken specific setting language, graphic displays, or numeric tables Knowledge is a body of information, technique, and experience that coalesces around a particular subject Common Knowledge How Companies Thrive by Sharing What They Know; by Nancy M. Dixon, 2000, Harvard Business School Press

Data are elements of analysis.

Information is data with context.

Data must be organized to Information must be put become information into context to become knowledge

Information is a flow of messages

Managing Knowledge Workers New Skills and Attitudes to Unlock the Intellectual Capital in Your Organization; by Frances Horibe, 1999, John Wiley & Sons Knowledge is information Innovation Strategy for with meaning the Knowledge Economy: The Ken Awakening; by Debra M. Amidon, 1997, Butterworth-Heinemann The Art of Being Well Informed What You Need To Know To Gain The Winning Edge In Business; by Andrew P. Garvin, 1996, Avery Publishing Group Knowledge is created by The Knowledge the very flow of Creating Company How information, anchored in Japanese Companies the beliefs and create the Dynamics of commitment of its Innovation, by Ikujiro holder. Nonaka and Hirotaka Takeuchi, 1995, Oxford University Press

Knowledge is a fluid mix Working Knowledge: of framed experience, How Organizations values, contextual Manage What They information, and expert Know. By Thomas H. insights that provides a Davenport and Laurence framework for evaluating Prusak, 2000. Harvard and incorporating new Business School Press. experiences and information Merriam Websters Knowledge: 1. Information: 1. the Data: 1. factual Cognizance; 2. the fact or Collegiate Dictionary 10th communication or information used as a reception of knowledge or condition of knowing basis for reasoning, ed. intelligence; 2. knowledge something with familiarity discussion, or gained through calculation; 2. information obtained from investigation, study, or experience or association; output by a sensing 3. the range of ones instruction; 3. Facts, device or organ that information or includes both useful and Data; 4. quantitative measure of the content of understanding; 4. the sum irrelevant or redundant of what is known: the information and must be information. body of truth, processed to be information, and meaningful; 3. information principles acquired by in numerical form that can mankind. be digitally transmitted or processed.

Data is a set of discrete, objective facts about events as structured records of transactions

Information as message in the (various) form of communication to have an impact on judgment and behavior

For all intents and purposes, we need definitions that are concise, definitive, and distinct in attributes or characteristics, exhibit probable purpose, and/or offer inter-relationships. This subject is not an easy one; it involves extensive conceptual thinking dealing with many abstract concepts and semantics. Nevertheless, a thorough understanding of this topic is the quintessential foundation of information and knowledge management.

Personal experience leads me to conclude that definitions can never be overstated in terms of their importance. Good definitions include several essential characteristics: (1) boundaries (i.e. exclusive, nothing left out); (2) purpose (i.e. what it does), and (3) attributes or characteristics (i.e. what it is). My proposed definitions of Data, Information, and Knowledge fall within the parameter of a good definition. Thereafter, we can look into the inter-relationships between the defined subjects. 2. Definitions

Data are recorded (captured and stored) symbols and signal readings. Symbols include words (text and/or verbal), numbers, diagrams, and images (still &/or video), which are the building blocks of communication. Signals include sensor and/or sensory readings of light, sound, smell, taste, and touch. As symbols, Data is the storage of intrinsic meaning, a mere representation. The main purpose of data is to record activities or situations, to attempt to capture the true picture or real event. Therefore, all data are historical, unless used for illustration purposes, such as forecasting. [Note: However, Rehauser and Kremar (1996, p.6; cited by Probst et al., 2000) made a distinction between symbol and data with syntax.] Information is a message that contains relevant meaning, implication, or input for decision and/or action. Information comes from both current (communication) and historical (processed data or reconstructed picture) sources. In essence, the purpose of information is to aid in making decisions and/or solving problems or realizing an opportunity. Knowledge is the (1) cognition or recognition (know-what), (2) capacity to act (know-how), and (3) understanding (know-why) that resides or is contained within the mind or in the brain. The purpose of knowledge is to better our lives. In the context of business, the purpose of knowledge is to create or increase value for the enterprise and all its stakeholders. In short, the ultimate purpose of knowledge is for value creation. Given the definitions for data, information, and knowledge, the relationships between data and information, information and knowledge, why they are most often regarded as interchangeable and when they are not, the processes and their relevance to our intended application can be explored. The key to understanding the intricate relationship between data, information, and knowledge lies at the source of data and information. The source of both is twofold: (1) activities, and (2) situations. Both activities and situations generate information (i.e. relevant meaning to someone) that either is captured thus becoming Data, or becomes oblivious (lost). Examples of activities where information is generated and data can be collected include business activities like production, sales transactions, or advertising campaigns. Situations pertain to changes in the environment that may or may not be related to human activities, such as changes in the climate. Changes in the climate would affect such human activities as agriculture, or other economic activities such as cargo shipping. A situation is a context that affects decisions. For example, the deterioration of a factory building may impact production. In short, activities and situations generate information that feed into the decision-making process. The following diagram illustrates the relationships between data and information. Figure 1: Formation Of Information nd Data

Once they are captured and stored, data can be processed back into information through compilation and analysis. The picture of past activities and situations can thus be reconstructed. There are two fundamental aspects of data processing, compilation, and/or analysis: Data to data Data to context For example, Anthony represents a person, and 555-2345 represents a phone number. Both pieces of data may have a relationship, such as ownership, that means 555-2345 is Anthonys phone number, which in turn implies a message or decision where there is a likelihood of reaching Anthony via phone call. Further compilation of names of customers and their contact numbers may lead to information of how many customers one can reach and possible times needed to complete the task, i.e. 100 customers vs. 10,000 customers. An example of data to context data processing is Anthony located in a current phone book vs. Anthony located on a tombstone. Both the same data in different context would yield different meaning, implications or information that may necessitate a different decision or consequence. Diagram 2: Relationships Amongst Knowledge, Information, And Data

The key to understanding the relationship between information and knowledge is to know where the information resides. Recall that information is at its essence a message that is generated from activities and situations. However, information resides in storage media (database, print, video tapes, etc.) in the form of data, or in the human mind as knowledge (in its simplest form of knowwhat or the higher forms of know-how and know-why). If this is the case, then the overlap between data and information vis--vis information and knowledge becomes obvious, i.e. they occupy different space at the same time. This also explains why many perceive data and information, as well as information and knowledge as interchangeable. one mans data can be another mans knowledge, and vice versa, depending on context (Stewart, 2002, p.6 footnote). However, they are not interchangeable in terms of their accepted distinct definitions. So, what is a book: knowledge, information or data? It is all the above in various context. A book is knowledge from the authors perspective, information for the potential reader, and data as well which is contained in a storage media (called book).

These distinctions can help us crystallize our understanding in terms of managing data, information, and knowledge within the business model or organization. The importance or usefulness of definitions cannot be overstated when it comes to execution of management activities and business programs that involve millions upon millions of dollars. Data management is the capture, storage, structure, compilation, retrieval, and analysis of records. It is the reconstruction of recent or historical events as inputs for decision-making and/or problem solving. Information management includes reconstructing a picture of historical events, collecting current or recent market intelligence, as well as projecting possible future events (forecasting and scenario planning), and of course analysis for decision making and/or problem solving. Thereafter, action can be taken and then reviewed. Knowledge management, on the other hand, is, in essence, the management of human capital (tacit knowledge that resides in the human mind) relationship capital such as customer, supplier, strategic alliance, social capital (tacit and explicit), and structural capital (explicit knowledge a.k.a. data and information), the source and stock of knowledge; and the flow of knowledge as in knowledge creation, sharing, and application to create and/or sustain organizational value and competitive advantage.

3.

Conclusion

Knowledge management is not an isolated concept. Topics such as individual and organizational learning, creativity and innovation, leadership and teamwork, community networking, technology, corporate culture, and strategy contribute to the process of creating, capturing, and applying knowledge for value creation. Knowledge management is neither a fleeting concept nor a fad. It is just elusive because of its multi-disciplinary characteristics. In time, as more research and understanding is applied it will be better understood. Final words on the definition of data, information, and knowledge may not and should not come from this document. Nevertheless, this paper has hopefully clarified certain issues for future applications.

4.

References

Amidon, D.M. (1997) Innovation Strategy for the Knowledge Economy: The Ken Awakening; Butterworth-Heinemann, Newton, MA, USA. Davenport, T.H. and Prusak, L. (2000) Working Knowledge: How Organizations Manage What They Know; Harvard Business School Press, Boston, MA, USA. Dixon, N.M. (2000) Common Knowledge: How Companies Thrive by Sharing What They Know; Harvard Business School Press, Boston, MA, USA. Garvin, A.P. (1996) The Art of Being Well Informed What You Need To Know To Gain The Winning Edge In Business; Avery Publishing Group, New York, NY, USA. Horibe, F. (1999) Managing Knowledge Workers New Skills and Attitudes to Unlock the Intellectual Capital in Your Organization; John Wiley & Sons, New York, NY, USA. Kelley, J. (2002) Knowledge Nirvana: Achieving The Competitive Advantage Through Enterprise Content Management and Optimizing Team Collaboration; Xulon Press, Fairfax, VA, USA. Merriam Websters Collegiate Dictionary, Springfield, MA, USA, 10th ed. Nonaka, I. and Takeuchi, H. (1995) The Knowledge-Creating Company How Japanese Companies create the Dynamics of Innovation; Oxford University Press, New York, NY, USA. Probst, G., Raub, S., and Romhardt, K. (2000) Managing Knowledge: Building Blocks for Success; John Wiley & Sons, Chichester, England, UK. Rehauser, J., and Kremar, H. (1996) Wissensmanagement im Unternehman, in: Schreyogg, G./Conrad, P. (eds) Managementforshung 6: Wissenmanagement, 1-140, Berlin/NewYork: de Gruyter. Stewart, T.A. (2002) The Wealth of Knowledge: Intellectual Capital and the Twenty-First Century Organization; Nicholas Brealey Publishing, London, UK.

Sydanmaanlakka, P. (2002) An Intelligent Organization Integrating Performance, Competence and Knowledge Management; Capstone Publishing, Knoxville, TN, USA. Tiwana, A. (2001) The Essential Guide to Knowledge Management E - Business and CRM Applications; Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ, USA. Von Krogh, G., Ichijo, K., and Nonaka, I. (2000) Enabling Knowledge Creation: How to Unlock the Mystery of Tacit Knowledge and Release the Power of Innovation; Oxford University Press, New York, NY, USA.

Contact the Author: Anthony Liew, 53 Nan Kang Road, Section 3, Taipei, Taiwan, R.O.C. 115; Tel: (886) 926-960012; Email: [email protected]