Data

The discipline of information science studies the way information is made and generated (Borko 3). According to Morville, data "is a string of identified but unevaluated symbols" (46). Information, on the other hand, is "evaluated, validated, or useful data", and knowledge is "information in the context of understanding."

According to Cooper (2010), data are bits of distinct information that by themselves don't have meaning. An example of data is a heart rate [social media post, or metadata on a phone call]. Information is that data viewed in a larger context so that it is meaningful, and answers the "'who', 'what', 'where', and 'when'" questions (p. 505). A heart rate is more meaningful if you know the age, time, place, and circumstances of the reading. [A social media post is more meaningful if you know who posted it, what was said, and where and when it was sent.] Information helps understand the relation between data points. Knowledge is a step further and "answers the 'how' questions." Identifying patterns of information brings knowledge that can be "structured and organized." Knowledge can be passed on explicitly through written means like guidelines or implicitly through the experience of others. Finally, Cooper argues, "Wisdom is an extrapolative process, which includes knowledge in an ethical or moral framework. Wisdom is the process by which we also discern between right and wrong, good and bad." [Interestingly, according to according to Velasquez (2012), “Ethics is the study of morality,” and morality is “the standards that an individual or a group has about what is right and wrong, or good and evil” (p. 3). So, one must draw from wisdom to be ethical.]

References:

Borko, H. "Information Science: What Is It?" American Documentation 19.1 (1968): 3-5. Print.

Cooper, P. (2010). Data, information, and knowledge. Anaesthesia & Intensive Care Medicine 11 (12), 505-506. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mpaic.2010.09.008

Morville, Peter. Ambient Findability. Sebastopol: O'Reilly, 2005. Print.

Handbook of Occupational Groups and Families

Velasquez, M.G. (2012). Business ethics: Concepts & cases. Retrieved from http://www.ftms.edu.my/images/Document/BUSS0201%20-%20Business%20Ethics/Velasquez_C1.pdf