Chapter 7: Summary, conclusion, and recommendations
3.3 Internet access of high school learners
3.4.1 Information
Information is an essential part of all facets of life and its acquisition and understanding serve as important raw material in decision making, policy formulation and implementation for growth and survival (Urhiewhu, Okeke and Ukoma 2015:88). The ability to make effective and efficient “use of information brings about individualistic and societal gains that have direct impact on the”
lifelong learning competencies of all persons - including learners - as well as skills needed for the critical use of information (Al-Aufi, Al-Azri, and Al-Hadi, 2017:1). The term ‘information’ made an early appearance between 1372 and 1386; hence information is an old English term (Schement, 1993:177).
Information is essential to societal development and without adequate information, much cannot be achieved especially when making a decision or acquiring knowledge. Wang (2015:773) rates information as the number two level of cognitive objects that embodies the semantics of data or facts collected from the real-world and yielded through mental processes. He further rates it as the
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third essence to matter and energy for modelling the natural world. Information is therefore valuable since it affects the behaviour of users when taking critical decisions in relation to outputs (Mishra et al. 2015:3). Moreover, “without information no adjustment to nature is possible for either mankind as a whole or an individual” (Elyakov, 2010: 64). Information is therefore the crucial weapon for developing a community or a society (Mishra et al. 2015:3).
Although information is vital in all aspects of human activities, it does not have a single definition applicable for all human activities at all times (Wilson, 2006:659). The definition of information usually involves words such as data and knowledge (Sanders, 2016:223). The concept of information is therefore closely related to these two concepts: data and knowledge (Case, 2012:47).
It is not surprising that confusion sometimes arise when these three concepts – data, information and knowledge – are used because the definitions for knowledge to a larger extent elicit words like data (facts) and information, thus, explanations of these concepts complete an unproductive circle of definitions (Sanders, 2016:223). It is therefore difficult to avoid confusion when using these three concepts of data, information, and knowledge interchangeably (Brown and Duguid, 2000:2).
Similarly, “knowledge and information collapse each other” when defining them (Frické, 2009:140).
Data is from the Latin word datum which means a fact as well as a premise (Stoll, 2016:2).
“Measurements and representations of the world around us” can be described as data (Ikoja- Odongo and Mostert, 2006:146). Data can therefore be defined as a set of objects or facts that is seen as the raw material for the creation of information (J¨ager et al., 2015:115). This implies that, data is not the better option always but the “raw material” for creating the better option (Cong and Pandya, 2003: 26). According to Sanders (2016:223):
• Data is not the same as information.
• The so-called information overload is in fact a data overload.
• Observation: Unorganised data is of little value.
• Data is independent of a relationship (just numbers or words) until it is linked then it becomes knowledge.
• Data often requires context to make knowledge.
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Although Sanders (2016:223) maintained that information overload is actually data overload, studies have shown that there exists much difference between data and information (Stoll, 2016;
J¨ager et al., 2015; Wang, 2015). Sanders (2016:223) believe that information is a transformed data hence the data that makes no meaning to the user is the “so called information overload” but Savolainen (2015:619) maintained that not all information are helpful to users; and users quest to access information to satisfy their information needs end up getting information that are not useful to their needs and this is categorised as information overload. He further opined that the vast amount of information on the Internet makes it a potential source of information overload. In support, Braasch et al. (2013:180) asserted that questionable information sources produce information overload since they have the potential of producing unuseful information.
Information on the other hand is from the Latin word informatio which means formation or conception and it is the principle stem of where to inform (Stoll, 2016:2). Information is a form of abstract objects, that is perceived by human brains and represented by communication and cognitive systems; thus, anything intangible that the brain may acquire and process or any data that a computing/communication system may manipulate and convey (Wang, 2015:773). This attests to the fact that, data through a process of change is systematically arranged and processed to become information (Giannetto and Wheeler, 2000:3). Information therefore consists of data (J¨ager et al., 2015:115) and it is regarded as “data that has been gathered, processed, and analysed to provide a useful result” (Case, 2002:62).
Knowledge, however, involves belief and truth as well as logic and proof; thus, it “is not the symbolic representation derived in a model from information received, but the emitted response, which, ambiguously, can also be spoken or written words” (Sanders, 2016:223). This sometimes becomes the source of confusion between knowledge and information since it can be argued that information turns into knowledge when human beings form justified and true beliefs about the world (Case, 2012:73). Knowledge is therefore a step further than information because it is obtained from knowers that link information and data to something higher, for example, through experience or transactions (J¨ager et al., 2015:115). Similarly, “information depends on a
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collection of data and knowledge is based on accumulation of experience” (Choo, Detlor, and Turnbull, 2000:29).
Information can be said to be an increment of knowledge that can be derived from data (Stoll, 2016:2). However, the process of getting knowledge involves adaptation since knowledge is the persistent and appropriate response to a given input (Sanders, 2016:226). This depicts that
“knowledge is power” (Grix and Watkins, 2010:9). The role of information, however, is to ‘reduce uncertainty’ (Mark and Pierce, 2001:476) and information in this sense reflects three senses which are process, knowledge and thing (Case, 2012:51).
This study was mindful of the fact that, the differences and criticisms about the expectations and definitions of the concept of ‘information’ made by different scholars was not to negate the importance of the concept but to complement and bridge the gap in understanding the meaning of the information concept (Case, 2012:51). This study considered all opinions and explanations from different scholars as outlined in this section on the meaning of the concept of information and the study has applied Kaniki’s (2001) definition of ‘information’ as indicated in Chapter One (section 1.10.1). Kaniki’s definition was found to be appropriate for this study since it broadly clarifies the meaning of the concept of ‘information’ in the context of LIS by highlighting the main purpose of information including the decision-making process and problem solving.