Information Technology Form 4 Handout #2

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
FORM 4
HANDOUT #2
INFORMATION AND DATA
What is Data?
•a collection of raw, unorganized facts and details e.g. transactions, events and facts.
•data does not carry any specific purpose and has no significance by itself.
• measured in terms of bits and bytes – which are basic units of information in the context of
computer storage and processing.
What is Information?
•Is processed, organized and structured data.
•provides context for data and enables decision making.
e.g. a single customer’s sale at a cafe is data – this becomes information when the business is
able to identify the most popular or least popular dish.
Main differences between Data and Information

•Data is a collection of facts. Information is how you understand those facts in context.
•Data is unorganized, while information is structured or organized.
•Data is not typically useful on its own, but information is.
•Data generally includes the raw forms of numbers, statements, and characters. Information
doesn’t have to. Information depends on data.
Characteristics of information
· Accuracy · Reliability
· Comprehensibility
· Timeliness
· Relevance
· Interpretation
· Security
· Confidentiality
· Value
· Distortion
Characteristics of Information Source

1. Scope
2. Detail
3. Content
4. Accuracy
5. Purpose
6. Authority
7. currency
8. reliability
9. Audience
10. Format
11. Availability
12. Medium
13. Cost
Evaluate The Reliability Of Information Obtained From Online Sources

What are online sources?
The term 'online sources' refers to any materials you find online.
An online source could be a blog post, a newspaper article published online, a journal article
you have read online or an online video.
Why should you evaluate online sources?

•The information on the internet can be accessed by anyone who can also add to it. This means
that the information published may not always be credible or accurate, as anyone could have
written it.
•While searching for sources to use in your assignments, you might come across materials that
seem appropriate. You should always critically evaluate a source to check its credibility and
accuracy before using it an assignment to make certain you are preparing your work with
correct and credible information.
Currency
•The timeliness of the information.
•When was the information published?
•Has there been any updates or revision to the information?
•Are the sources used by the author current or outdated?
•Is the information out-of-date for the topic?
Information should be current, and recent enough to make problem solving and decision
making reasonable and reliable. In problem solving and decision making, all information is
considered to have a life span for which it is appropriate.
Relevancy
•The importance of the information to your context.
•Does the information answer your question?
•Is the information related to your topic?
•Have you looked for other sources before settling on this one?
•Is the information appropriate to your level of study? Is it too simple or too sophisticated?
Information gathered should be relevant to the topic being researched and free from
extraneous, cosmetic, and irrelevant details. It should be appropriate for the tasks of problem
solving and decision making.
Authority
•The source of the information.
•Who is the author?
•Is the author qualified to write on the topic?
•Has the material been peer-reviewed or reviewed by editors?
•Has the author been cited elsewhere?
Accuracy
•The reliability, truthfulness, and correctness of the content.
•What types of other sources have been cited?
•Does the information line up with your own knowledge on the topic?
•Are there any spelling or grammar errors in the text?
Purpose
•The reason the information exists.
•What is the purpose of the information? Is it to inform or persuade?
•Is the author clear what their intentions are?
•What biases might the author have?
Bias
Gathered information should be free from bias, i.e. the information is objective and free from
preconceptions. A reputable institution should support source without bias in the information.
Reliability
This refers to how consistent the information source is over time. For example, when
monitoring temperatures related to climate change, we may want to record the temperatures
at consistent time intervals. Even though each individual recording may be accurate and
precise, the lack of regular recordings can make the information unreliable when determining
trends associated with temperature.
Sources of data
1) Source document,
2) turnaround document,
3) machine and human readable document.
Source documents
A source document is one that contains data that is going to be input into a computer system.
E.g. When an employee takes a document and enters the data into a computer system, the
document is referred to as a source document.
Machine-readable and human-readable documents

A human –readable document is any document that needs to be read by humans. e.g. any
forms are filled in by hand and the person has to read them before entering the data on a
keyboard. Machine-readable document is one on which the data can be ‘read’ by an input
device, such as a scanner or mark reader.
Turnaround document
A turnaround 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. It is then fed back into a
computer to transfer this newly added information. These documents serve two purposes;
1. Verify the accuracy and completeness of information that has already been entered.
2. Update information already entered with additional data
e.g. the multiple-choice sheets used in examinations. Information such as candidate number,
subject and school code is printed on the multiple-choice answer sheet by the computer. The
student takes the test and fills in the answer grid by making marks in the appropriate boxes
using a pencil or ballpoint pen. The form is then returned to the examination council to be fed
into a special reader.

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INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

INFORMATION AND DATA

Main differences between Data and Information

Characteristics of Information Source

Evaluate The Reliability Of Information Obtained From Online Sources

Why should you evaluate online sources?

Machine-readable and human-readable documents

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