What do you mean by information? Briefly discuss the Nature, Quality and Parameter of information.
Introduction:
Information is knowledge about a particular subject, issue, event or process. Information can be obtained from various sources: you can be told information, for example through a lecture or a television programme, or you can find information through your own research.
Meaning of Information:
Information- a sensible statement, opinion, fact, concept or idea, or association of statements, opinions or ideas. It is closely associated with knowledge that once information has been assimilated, corrected and understood it becomes knowledge.
The use of the term information accepts that information is synthesized from item of knowledge. The mental ability to grand relationships between items of information is usually referred to as intelligence.
Nature of information:
It is clear that, there has been a lack of clarity in thinking about deceptive concept. However information can be considered at various levels.
1. Basic data:
At the most basic level we can recognise a record of a promary transection. For example- height, weight and age of a person; the data, amount at payee of cheque. 'Raw data' are what they are frequently called basic data are the building blocks which contain the potential information, but only after processing.
2. Information as massage:
The information is the message: Information is seen as a function of the message alone. For our purposes it will be more useful to call these basic message 'data' and to retain the idea of information for use when the potential user of the message is identified.
3. Information in use:
In reality information involves the receiver of the message; these are data that have been interpreted. The user needs information to acquire a value; before that they are data. Consequently information involves a process-human thought process. It is dynamic; it is not and entity.
4. Valuable information:
Data can be bought and sold, where as information acquires value in use. That is what Marshal Mcluhen had in mind when he wrote,'' information is the crucial commodity'. Norbert weiner, on the other hand , wrote, information is what changes us. It is not a commodity to be bought or sold. If information is what changes us, those in command of the process have a major role to play.
5. Quality of information:
It is useful to think of information as having the three dimensions as time, content and form. These throe dimensions of information are given below-
1.Time dimensions: It is categorized by the following:
Timeliness: Information should be provided when it is needed.
Currency: Information should be up-to-date when it is provided.
Frequency: Information can be provided about past, present and future.
2. Content Dimensions:
Accuracy :Information should be free form errors .
Relevance: Information should be related to the information needs of a specific recipient for a specific situation.
Completeness: All the information that is needed should be provided.
Conciseness : Only the information that is needed should be provided.
Scope: Information can have a broad or narrow scope or and internal or external focus.
Reliability: It must be reliable to the user.
Performance: Information can reveal performance by measuring activities accomplished, progress made are resources accumulated.
3.Form dimensions:
Clarity: Information should be provided in a form that is easy to understand.
Detail: Information can be provided in detail or summary form.
Order: Information can be arranged in a predetermined sequence.
Presentation :Information can be presented in nurraitive, numeric, graphic or other forms.
Media : Information can be provided in the form of printed paper, documents, vedio, displays or other media.
Parameters of information
Parameter means a constant quality in the case considered like many other things information has some parameters. William F. Williams has noted six parameter of information in 'Principle of Automated Information retrieval' Which are as follows-
1. Quality of information;
Quality of information can be juged by the number of documents, pages, words, characters, bits, drawings, charts, pictures, graphs, various illustration etc.
2. Content:
The content of information must be meaningful and understandable. It shold be clearly and properly explained.
3. Language:
Information must be expressed in and understandable, grammatically correct. Modern & scientific language is considered by the symbols, alphabet codes, syntax with which the ideas are expressed.
4. Structure:
Information can be measured by its structure i.e The format or organization of the information and its logical relationship between statements or elements. Information must have a logical format and internal contents must be organized systematically.
5.Quality: Quality of information can be judged by the following factors-
*Accuracy
*Completeness
*Relevancy
*Reliability
*Dissemination power
*Utility
*Impartiality
*Availability
*Timelessness
*Adaptability
Life:
The total span of time in which value can derived form information. It must be recent and up-to-date. Actually the value of information depends on a specific period of time.
Conclusion:
Information is an important resource. The progress of modern society depends as a great deal upon the provision of right kind of information in the right form at the right time. The planners of national or regional or local plans need information to be able to plan properly. A specialist right needs information to keep himself up-to-date and well informed in his field of specialization. So we can say that we can not think our existence without information.
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