Information Processing

Data and Information

 Data is unprocessed facts and numbers. It is raw facts and figures that may not make
sense on their own.
 Information is the useable result you get after data has been processed. Information is
processes data that is meaningful.
 Data Processing is the manipulation of data to obtain information.
 Information system refers to any record keeping system. Data has been collected
(input), processed and displayed (output) in order to provide useful information.
 Information is collected for culture, leisure, work, research, and everyday life. In
organizations however, it is mainly used for planning and decision making.
 Sources of information include:
 measurements-sales, cash, recipients
 informal communication-word of mouth, meetings
 publications- hurricane preparedness tips and trends in chronic diseases
 questionnaires- opinion polls, market research
 In order for information to be useful, it must be:
 Relevant
 Timely
 Complete
 In an appropriate medium
 Cost-effective
Information as a Commodity
 An information commodity is an item of information that can be bought or sold.
 Major types of information for sale include:
 Databases
 Information retrieval systems
 Full text databases and reference materials
 Other less formal publications such as subject specialized bulletin boards,
which in some cases may replace traditional journals
Information for decision making
 Decision making in an organization occurs at three levels:
 Strategic-Chief executive directors, leadership teams etc. Highest level of
management is responsible for deciding the long term objectives of the
organization. Information required includes overall reports, future marketing
prospects, availability and costs of raising new funds, human resource
requirements and current levels.
 Tactical-Heads of large departments, functional supervisors, project
coordinators etc. They decide how the resources of the organization employed
to achieve the goals set at the lower strategic level. Information at this level
will become more detailed and include production levels by department, cash
flow forecasts, labour turnover stats. Etc.
 Operational-Heads of small departments, individuals with specific areas of
responsibility etc. Immediate information required may be the amount of raw

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materials may be input for a manufacturing process. The information must be

detailed and related to the present operations.
Information Processing
 Information processing is when a machine or processor interacts with the outside
world and acts on the input it receives.
 Benefits or Advantages of Information Processing
 It makes a lot of tasks easier and faster.
 Lots of data is stored during information processing. Stored data is quick and
easy to access and it does not need to be processed or examined again.
 It results in automation. Multiple tasks are performed without you even
knowing about them. These tasks require little or no control by humans.
 It enables sharing and analysis of information. Information is easy to pass
along and stored information is easy to access and analyse. This means that
trends can be spotted faster and people can share ideas on how to improve
processes.
 Once an information processing system has been set u, it is often easy to
maintain.
 Disadvantages of Information processing
 It can be very expensive to set up initially because of the hardware, software
and technical requirements.
 Depending on the system, it can be expensive to maintain. Hardware and
software must be replaced and kept up to date, and specialists are often needed
to operate these systems.
 We are very reliant on information processing systems and when they fail or
do not work properly it can cause disruption or disorder.
 Forms of Information Processing:
 Commercial Processing- computers used in business carry out the following
tasks:
o Payrolls
o Sales
o Invoices
o Payment
o Accounts
 Industrial Processing- these computers carry out the tasks as those listed in the
commercial processing as well as the following:
o Control Systems
o Computer Aided Design
o Computer Aided Engineering
o Computer Aided Manufacturing
 Scientific Processing- Scientists use sensors to collect data over a period of
time. They will analyse the data they have collected, find connections between
them, and sometimes display results on a chart.
 Control Systems use computers to control machinery. Sometimes the processor is
referred to as the controller. There are two types of control systems:

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 Automation Systems- these are straight forward types of control systems in

which tasks are carries out automatically. It follows a set of predetermined
actions to the end.
 Process control Systems- these are used in manufacturing, in which the actions
are changed depending on the feedback from the sensors.
 A sensor converts measurements into electronic signals that sends it to the controller.
 Information retrieval refers to when data stored on a computer system is searched and
the relevant information is found.
 Information Management ensures that all data is inputted accurately, stored correctly,
retrieved easily and output in a way that provides useful information.
Methods of Data capture
 Turnaround document- a turnabout document is a machine readable document that
has some information printed on it by a computer, but has more information added to
it by a human.
 Source document- is one that contains data that is going to be inputted into a
computer system.
 Machine readable document- one in which data can be read by an input device such as
a scanner or mark reader.
 Human readable documents- these need to be read by humans. Many forms are filled
in by hand and the employee has to read them before entering the data into a
computer.
 Data Logging- a method of automatic data capture where a reading from a sensor is
input at regular intervals. The data can then be processed to provide analysis of the
environment.
Validation and Verification
 Errors are part of any computer information system. Some sources of error can be:
 Data Entry
 Software and hardware errors
 Transmission errors
 Data validation is the computerized checking of input data for errors before it is
processed. Methods of validation are:
 Presence check-documents and forms have optional and required fields. A
required field is one that has to be contain a value while optional fields can be
left blank. Presence checks are used to ensure the required fields contain data.
 Data type check-or character checks, ensure that the right type of data has
been entered. They ensure that only numbers have been entered or only
symbols have been entered.
 Range check-ensures that numbers entered fall within a specific range.
 Consistency check-compare data you have entered against other data you have
entered. They can be used to make sure that false or dishonest data has not
been entered.
 Parity check-A parity bit, or check bit is a bit added to the end of a string of
binary code that indicates whether the number of bits in the string with the
value one is even or odd.
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 Check Digit-A check digit is a form of redundancy check used for error
detection on identification numbers (e.g. bank account numbers) which have
been input manually. It is analogous to a binary parity bit used to check for
errors in computer-generated data.
 Length check- determines whether the entered data is the correct length, the
right number of digits. An easy way to ensure that data is the correct length is
to create a field that will not allow the user to continue unless all the spaces for
the digits have been filled in.
 Reasonableness check-ensures that data is reasonable, not completely
unrealistic.
 Data verification is the checking for mistakes such as transcription errors when data is
copied from one medium or device to another.
 Visual Checks- One verification method is to use on screen prompts. After a
set of data is entered it is re-displayed on the screen. The user is prompted to
read it and confirm that has been entered correctly. If the user has entered any
data incorrectly, it is re-entered. Accidental errors can also be prevented by
verification in asking for confirmation of instructions.
 Double data entry- data is entered twice using a program that checks each second
entry against the first(data is entered twice and compared, if they do not match then
they must be re-entered)
Master and Transaction Files
 A master file is a permanent file which is kept up to date and stores the main
information, summary data and key fields in the data.
 The master file contains two kinds of data:
 Permanent data
 Less permanent data
 A transaction file is a temporary file which is used to update the master file after a
certain time. The records of the transaction file are used to perform three important
functions:
 Add
 Update
 Delete

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File Organization and Access

 Files and records need to be organized so that they are easily accessible and easy to
update when necessary.
 A database is an organized collection of data. It has several components:
 Files- a file is an entire set of data. A file can be a collection of as many
records as needed.
 Record- a record id a subset of data (collection of fields) found in each file.
 Field- a piece of data contained in a record.
 A file has three important characteristics:
 Whether it is permanent or temporary
 The way it is organized
 The way it is accessed
Methods of File Organization and Access
 Sequential and Serial
 Sequential file ordering- records are stored in a logical order. It can be
arranged according to date, name, size or any other field. They are easier to
understand if you have to view a large number of records at once.
 Serial file ordering- the records are not stored in any order. They are simply
stored one after the other as they are added. It is useful because it provides an
easy way to go back and check a transaction.
 Sequential access- means accessing records one by one in the order they are
stored until the right one is reached. Serial access works in the same way.
 Random File Ordering and Access-random file ordering, also known as direct access
file ordering, and is where files are stored in any order. The computer maps where all
this data is stored so you can immediately access it when you search for it. Random
access or direct access allows you to access the record you want without having to go
through any others.
 Index Sequential File Ordering and Access- uses an indexed file to store records. Each
record can be accessed via its index number. This file ordering is a combination of
sequential and random file ordering and is used when records need to be sorted in
sequence but individual records must be quickly accessible. It uses both types of

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access to search for records. It uses an index file and a sequential file. Sequential
access is used to go through each record, and direct access is used to find a specific
record.
An index sequential file organization uses an index file to speed up searches on a
sequential file.
An index sequential file has to be sorted in some order, but another file is set up to act
as an index. An index added to a sequential file makes it possible to search large
sequential files very quickly. It cannot be used with sequential media such as tape
drives, it can only be used with direct access media such as disks.
The main sequential file containing all the records could be stored on a hard disk,
each position is given a numerical address. The index file will also be stored on the
hard disk. In the index file, the position field will hold the address of a position on the
disk.
Using methods of Ordering and Access
 The way that records are stored and accessed depends on the types of record, what
they are used for and even the form of storage. A bank and a school will use
different methods of ordering and access for their data.

REFERENCES
Glenda Gay, Ronald Blades. (2009).Information Technology for CSEC. Oxford
University Press.
Leo Cato, Jan Holligan, Denzle Murray and Kati Paizee .Information Technology for
CSEC. Nelson Thornes Ltd.
IT School Notes

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