Information Methods

Q. What is Information Literacy?

A. ability to recognise the need to find, organise, evaluate and use such information for effective decision-making or problem solving.

Be aware that some information conveyed to you may be distorted. Be aware that you may require additional information before making a decision.

Q. What is Information Technology Literacy?

A. ability to recognise opportunities for and apply information technology resources to capture and manipulate data, transform data into information and present information.

Q. Why do you need Information Literacy?

A. to function in society, to understand the language and knowledge structures of particular fields of study, to be able to study in fields of interest, to be able to communicate.

Q. Is there a relationship between data, information, and knowledge?

A. Yes. A collection of basic data elements (facts, video, images, sound etc.) are transformed (manipulated) into information. By gathering information we can begin to gain knowledge.

Q. What are the three information types? (and give an example of each)

A. Primary Information - eyewitness account, creative work, discovery

Secondary Information - reports on events, history, theologies

Tertiary Information - indices, bibliographies, browsers

Q. What are the Information Literacy skills identified in the lecture?

A. Task Definition, Information Seeking Strategies, Location and Access, Use of Information, Synthesis, Evaluation

Q. What are the 5 subdisciplines of Semiotics and what are their attributes?

A. Statistics - patterns, codes, traces, signals

Syntactics - structure, data, records, language, logic, software, files

Semantics - meaning, denotation, signification, proposition, validty, truth

Pragmatics - intent, communication, conversation, negotiation

Social - beliefs, expectations, commitments, contracts, law, culture

Q. What are mind maps useful for?

A. Note taking, organising information in a logical structure, good for exam revision

Q. What is a metaphor? Examples...

A. statements based on some kind of analogy where two things are compared to each other eg desk top metaphor, metaphorically speaking

Q. What are the different types of metaphors?

A. Illustrative, Iconic, Visual, Verbal

Q. What is a clichй?

A. A phrase that conveys some sort of idea or message, a clichй is, in other words a metaphor characterised by its over use.

Q. The usefulness of information is determined by four main factors. What are these four main factors and exemplify.

A. Information Quality - fitness for purpose, author's credentials, revised edition, intended audience etc.

Information Assessibility - consistent, speed, availability, format

Information Presentation - writing style, organised logically, main points clearly presented

Information Security - Internet fire walls, Business passwords etc

Q. What is Knowledge?

A. A combination of rules, ideas, instincts and procedures that guide actions and decisions.

Q. What are the different types of information retrieval outlined in the lecture?

A. Text database - a set of documents stored and organised on a computer eg proformas

Hypertext documents - interactive links to other parts of the current document eg autotable of contents in word.

Hypermedia system - WWW is made up of documents that may contain text, images, audio, video etc.

Browser - GUI to WWW, displays web pages to users, require programs called 'plugins' to access some elements

Q. Name two different types of databases and provide examples for each.

A. Relational database - consisting of many linked tables eg MS Access

Flat File database - rows and columns, one table only eg MS Excel/Word

Q. Name some information collection techniques (from lecture)

A. Interviewing & Observation

Reading

Note Taking

Listening

Information Management

Q. When organising data we need to apply Critical thinking in particular we need to clarify, reflect, analyse and synthesise. Describe each of these steps.

A. Clarify - examine the material, check the information

Reflect - consider, compose, look at consequences

Analyse - examine the parts, make comparisons, read between the lines, draw inferences

Synthesise - pull all the clues together, form your own arguments or line of reasoning

Q. Name three flexible storage systems for data (from lecture notes)

A. Paper based, film based, computer based

Q. Which is more important, storage or retrieval of information? Justify your answer.

A. Information retrieval.