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How does data become something useful, something that can be used to make decisions, even critical health care decisions? Should not such critical decisions be based on knowledge? But what is knowledge, and what is data? First, one has to have clear definitions of the words being used, while avoiding the cyclic pitfalls of casual synonyms, like using the word information for data. That is, information is made up of data and data is just bits of information. Merriam-Webster's dictionary defines data in this manner "facts or information used to analyze, calculate or plan something", essentially using the words data and information interchangeably. Perhaps this is due to the word data being plural, and thereby implying each datum is inherently coupled with other data, making the whole more informative. But Merriam-Webster's dictionary defines datum as “a single piece of information”. Again using them interchangeably. But a datum itself is not informative. Wagner, Lee and Glasser segregate the two words by stating "information is processed data". This is true when one looks at a specific datum. The integer 29 is a datum. We know some things about 29 by itself. It is a number, most likely an integer, and it has a value of 29, but not much else is known. It is not informative. Yet coupled with other data, processed or formatted, and presented in a specific way, it becomes informative or “information”. Taking our example, if we present the datum 29 on a computer screen next to the label "pg/mL CRP" where the title of the window is Plasma Biomarker Results. It now becomes information for a health care provider understanding the data represents the patient has a plasma/CRP concentration of 29 pg/mL.
The definition from E.H. Shortliffe and J.J. Cimino of information is very telling. “Information is more generic in that it encompasses both organized data and knowledge, although data are not information until they have been organized in some way for analysis or display.” This definition appears to agree with Wagner, Lee and Glasser, and even gives us the impression processed data can become information. And further, processed information can become knowledge, where the concept of information spans both data and knowledge. However, their definition of knowledge is void of the word information entirely and limited to “the formal or informal analysis (or interpretation) of data”, or that knowledge, as information, is processed data.
Enrico Coiera, has a convoluted take on the subject, suggesting it is knowledge that spans the concepts of data and information. His take on information, “information is obtained by the application of knowledge to data”, feels awkward. For me personally, knowledge is on a higher plane than information and has very little to do with converting data into information. That is, one needs many pieces of information of a subject to have knowledge of the subject. This is why it is important to fall back on the fundamentals of the English language. Merriam-Webster defines knowledge as “information, understanding, or skill that you get from experience or education”. Although it falls back into the same cyclic synonym issue, it suggests that knowledge is made up of information as well as other components, further suggesting that knowledge is processed information.
Having a software engineering background, I greatly prefer the logic oriented definitions of data and information provided by the Free On-Line Dictionary for Computing (FOLDOC). Their definition for data is comprehensive and precise, but most important of all, it clearly states “data on its own has no meaning, only when interpreted by some kind of data processing system does it take on meaning and become information”. This logic holds consistent for their definition of information as well. “The result of applying data processing to data, giving it context and meaning. Information can then be further processed to yield knowledge.” If I own a book on a subject that I have not read, do I have knowledge of the subject? No, I merely have information about the subject. For it to become knowledge I have to process the information. In other words, I need to read the book to convert the information therein into knowledge.
There are many definitions for the terms data, information and knowledge. Upon analysis from scientific sourced definitions and basic research of the English language from dictionaries, it is clear that data, in and of itself, has no meaning or context. It must be processed in some way to become information. And further, a single piece of information may contain pieces of knowledge, but that singular piece of information, in and of itself, is not knowledge. Knowledge is processed information and information is processed data.
(n.d.). Retrieved September 27, 2016, from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary
Wager, K. A., Lee, F. W., Glaser, J. P. (2009). Health care information systems: A practical approach for health care management. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
E.H. Shortliffe, J.J. Cimino. (2013). Biomedical informatics: Computer applications in health care and biomedicine. London: Springer.
Coiera, E. (2003). Guide to health informatics. London: Arnold.
FOLDOC - Computing Dictionary. (n.d.). Retrieved September 27, 2016, from http://foldoc.org/
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