Complete information contains all of the necessary essential data.
If the healthcare provider needs to contact the only relative listed for the patient and his or her contact information is listed but the approval for that person to be a contact is missing, this information is considered incomplete. Flexible information means that the informa tion can be used for a variety of purposes. Information concerning the inventory of
24 CHAPTER 2 Introduction to Information, Information Science, and Information Systems
Figure 2-3 Threats to Data Integrity
• Connectivity issues • Data corruption • Lost data
• Hardware failures • Software crashes
• Viruses • Worms • Spam • Ransomware
• Incorrect data entry • Spelling errors
Human Error Malware
Transmission ErrorsMachine Error
supplies on a nursing unit, for example, can be used by nurses who need to know if an item is available for use for a patient. The nurse manager accesses this information to help decide which supplies need to be ordered, to determine which items are used most frequently, and to do an economic assessment of any waste.
Reliable information comes from reliable or clean data gathered from authorita tive and credible sources. Objective information is as close to the truth as one can get; it is not subjective or biased, but rather is factual and impartial. If someone states something, it must be determined whether that person is reliable and whether what he or she is stating is objective or tainted by his or her own perspective.
Utility refers to the ability to provide the right information at the right time to the right person for the right purpose. Transparency allows users to apply their intellect to accomplish their tasks while the tools housing the information disappear into the background. Verifiable information means that one can check to verify or prove that the information is correct. Reproducibility refers to the ability to produce the same information again.
Information is acquired either by actively looking for it or by having it conveyed by the environment. All of the senses (vision, hearing, touch, smell, and taste) are used to gather input from the surrounding world, and as technologies mature, more and more input will be obtained through the senses. Currently, people receive infor mation from computers (output) through vision, hearing, or touch (input); and the response (output) to the computer (input) is the interface with technology. Gesture recognition is increasing, and interfaces that incorporate it will change the way people become informed. Many people access the Internet on a daily basis seeking information or imparting information. Individuals are constantly becoming informed, discovering, or learning; becoming reinformed, rediscovering, or relearning; and purging what has been acquired. The information acquired through these processes is added to the personal knowledge base. Knowledge is the awareness and understanding of a set of information and ways that information can be made useful to support a specific task or arrive at a decision. This knowledge building is an ongoing process engaged in while a person is conscious and going about his or her normal daily activities.
Information Science Information science has evolved over the last 50 or so years as a field of scientific inquiry and professional practice. It can be thought of as the science of informa tion, studying the application and usage of information and knowledge in organi zations and the interface or interaction between people, organizations, and ISs. This extensive, interdisciplinary science integrates features from cognitive science, communication science, computer science, library science, and the social sciences. Information science is primarily concerned with the input, processing, output, and feedback of data and information through technology integration with a focus on comprehending the perspective of the stakeholders involved and then applying IT as needed. It is systemically based, dealing with the big picture rather than individual pieces of technology.
Information Science 25