LO3

• data

  raw facts and figures that have not been processed yet and has no context

  e.g. 53% is data but it has no context
• information

  data that has been processed, organised and structured into context

  e.g. 53% of pumpkin stock was sold in 2019 is information as it has been given context (meaning)
• Categories of information for individuals

  • communication
  • education and training
  • entertainment
  • planning
  • financial
  • research
  • location dependent
• categories of information for organisations

  • knowledge management and creation
  • MIS
  • marketing, promotion and sales
  • financial analysis and modelling
  • contact management
  • decision making
  • internal and external communication
  • big data
• communication

  e.g. texting a friend about dinner plans, email from someone on holiday/in a different country, calling work because public transport is delayed
• education and training

  e.g. revision textbooks, course registration documents, school reports, assignments or resources from teachers - can be both paper-based or digital
• entertainment

  e.g. magazines, online reviews, listening to podcasts, watching tutorials
• planning

  e.g. electronic calendars/calendar apps, shared document to arrange meetings, web page to check bus timetable
• financial

  e.g. bank statement to plan holiday savings, spreadsheet of monthly expenditures, purchasing presents online
• research

  e.g. online encyclopedias for school project, research articles to write essays, recipe book
• location dependent

  e.g. finding local restaurants, searching for emergency medical centres on holiday
• benefits: communication

  Easy to communicate with anyone around the world as everyone has one form of communication method
• limitations: communication

  Internet connection required for many communication methods
• benefits: education and training

  Lots of useful information in many formats so easy to access
• limitations: education and training

  Usually costs money (such as revision guides)
• benefits: entertainment

  Helps people find what to watch
• limitations: entertainment

  bias reviews
• benefits: planning

  Can allow people to be more organised and function in groups a lot easier as people are aware of each other's commitments
• limitations: planning

  Can take a lot of time to fill in a lot of information, information can be subject to change and may not be accurate
• benefits: financial

  Can demystify a lot of complex financial information for the layman like the typical user, can organise masses of financial information and provide useful insights from it 
• limitations: financial

  Services may provide incorrect insights based on some information provided and lead people to create wrong financial decisions 
• benefits: research

  Research is a good method of data gathering as there is a limitless amount of information on the internet, meaning it is always readily accessible
• limitations: research

  Misinformation exists and can give you an unreliable source 
• benefits: location dependent

  Location dependant services are good as they can locate where things are to assist with systems such as GPS
• limitations: location dependent

  It requires an internet connection or else it is inaccessible
• knowledge management and creation


  managing information across an organisation

  e.g. sharing information between branches in different cities
• MIS


  system that provides overview of key information

  e.g. location and details of each charity worker in a disaster area
• marketing, promotion and sales

  identifying patterns or trends in sales figures so that certain products or areas can be targeted

  e.g. to plan marketing campaigns
• financial analysis and modelling

  analysing trends

  e.g. determining the top selling products in a year or weekly cash flows to create models of customer behaviour
• Contact Management

  Managing contact between a business and the customer

  e.g. tracking appointments at a doctor's surgery
• Internal and External Communication

  Providing a communication medium to staff and/or customers

  e.g. posting Christmas opening times on the website, or sending a staff email invite to the Christmas party
• Big Data

  any data too large or complex for traditional data analysis techniques to be used

  e.g health data on the population of an entire country
• Decision Making

  Using available information to make decisions

  e.g. a charity deciding on the amount of aid to be sent to a disaster area based on local data
• stages of data analysis

  • identify the need
  • define the scope
  • identify the potential source
  • source and select information
  • select the most appropriate tools
  • process and analyse data
  • record and store information
  • share results
• identify the need

  objectives are set for what the data analysis will hope to achieve, aims must be clear and well defined

  not clearly defining required information or purpose then it could lead to worthless results or waste of time for data analysis process
• define the scope

  restrictions of the project are defined

  scopes include: budget, content, detail, timescales/deadlines, and any further constraints
• identify the potential sources

  project planners must identify a wide range of sources, ensures its unbiased and covers the objective
• source and select information

  gather information, unsuitable (unreliable) data excluded, planners have to determine accuracy and reliability of any identified sources and select the best

  otherwise results may be unreliable as poor quality information can lead to numerous negative consequences
• select the most appropriate tools

  using data analysis tools

  regression analysis - determining relationships

  trend analysis - shows patterns overtime
• process and analysis data

  data has now been collected and inputted into software for further analysis