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Week 1 Assignment

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Date
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Week 1 Assignment

Data VS Information Vs. Knowledge

Data is described as gathering raw, unorganized facts besides details in text,

observation, figure, or symbols. This means that data does not have any specific purpose and

lacks importance in itself. On the contrary, information is processed data that is organized and

structured to create meaning. Information offers a context for the data, enabling decision-

making based on the data. Unlike data, information has meaning. The bottom line is that data

is unprocessed while information is processed to create meaning.

On the other hand, knowledge results from the information described as the fluid mix of

organizational experiences value expert insights besides contextual information, which offers

a framework for assessment besides the incorporation of new experience besides information.

Unlike information and data, knowledge resides in the minds of those who know and often

becomes a routine process or practice for those with the knowledge. Another difference

between knowledge and information is that, unlike information, knowledge can be felt

through decision-making, where those who possess the knowledge will apply it through

practice by doing something or using the knowledge to make decisions that affect action. The

process starts with data, which is processed to become information used to create knowledge.

Six Features of Quality Data

Six key features determine the quality of data. The features enable the data analyst to

establish the data quality and act as a guide during data collection. Each of the features serves

a purpose during data collection and thus must be considered;

Accuracy and Precision

This feature means that the data must have exactness to be considered quality. Based on

this feature, quality data does not have error elements and has to pass the correct message

without any contradictions. This feature aligns with the intended use of the data and thus may

require that the objective of the data use be established before collecting or sourcing the data.

This helps improve the accuracy besides the data's precision and ensures that only accurate

data is available.

Legitimacy and Validity

Set boundaries of the data dictate this feature. This is based on the legitimacy of the data

that has been established. For instance, in a survey, the options to answer for gender are only

male or female, whereas any other option will be irrelevant and will not be valid, thus making

it harder to use the data. Although this feature may differ based on the user, the user must be

clear and select the appropriate way of establishing validity in the data to avoid ambiguity.

Reliability and Consistency

This feature aligns with the objective of the data, where the data must be consistent and

reliable. This goes further to cover the data sources where, before the process begins, the user

must establish that the data that meets the objective will continue flowing in to ensure the

process is continuous. This feature does not necessarily mean that the source must be one, but

rather, the sources can be many, with the only requirement being the consistency of the data.

This means that the data source must be reliable and stable to allow for data collection and

storage without creating contradictions in the process.

Timeliness and Relevance

There is a valid rationale behind the timing and relevance of the data. For instance, in a

business environment, the data must align with the business's goals and be trimmed to match
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only the timeframe the business needs analysis on. In such a case, if data is collected outside

this timeframe, then it will become irrelevant to the problem (Cai & Zhu, 2015). however, it is

recommended that the data not be collected too soon or too late to ensure no

misrepresentation of a situation, which may result in inaccuracies in the data-based decisions.

Completeness and Comprehensiveness

Most often, quantitative data is used to generalize the situation. In a case where the data

collected is incomplete, this will lead to a partial understanding of the situation, affecting the

generalization of the situation. This means that the data collection process must ensure that all

the data has been collected to exhaustion to help ensure that any generalization of a situation

is valid. Also, complete information enables the data user to understand the situation fully and

make the final decision based on all the facts.

Availability and Accessibility

This feature is sometimes challenging since the data may be available but not

accessible. This may be due to the security features that prohibit certain data use (Cai & Zhu,

2015). it is important to note that before a decision is made to use the data that meets all the

above requirements, be determined based on availability besides accessibility. This will mean

that there is a consistent flow of data to ensure the success of the data use. This provides the

data user an assurance that any data analysis that may need a lot of data is guaranteed of

getting the data without failure.

Reference

Cai, L., & Zhu, Y. (2015). The challenges of data quality and data quality assessment in the

big data era. Data science journal, 14, 2-2.