PARAMETERS OF INFORMATION
Six parameters of information have been recognized:
1. Quantity of information which can be measured by the number of documents, pages, words, characters, bits, drawings, etc.
2. Content, the meaning of information.
3. Structure, the format or organization of information and its logical relationship between statements or elements.
4. Language, the symbols, alphabets, codes, and syntax with which the ideas are expressed.
5. Quality, which characterizes the completeness, accuracy, relevance, and timeliness of information.
6. Life, the total span of time in which the value can be derived from the information.
VARIETIES OF INFORMATION
Information has its varieties. They are recognizable on the basis of different characteristics. Hertz and Rubinstein have identified six varieties of information:
1. Conceptual information: the ideas, theories, hypotheses about the relationships which exist among the variables.
2. Empirical information: drawn from observation, experience and experiments rather than theory.
3. Procedural information: the methodology which enables the investigator to operate more effectively. Procedural information relates to the means by which the data of investigation are obtained, manipulated, and tested.
4. Stimulatory information: a person must be motivated, and there are but two sources for such motivation, himself and his environment. Stimulatory information when environmentally derived is probably most effective when it is transmitted by direct communication.
5. Policy information: this is the focus of the decision making process. Collective activity necessitates the definition of objectives and purpose, the fixing of and of responsibility, the conditions of rights and privileges, and delineation of functions. Directive information: group activity cannot proceed effectively without coordination, and it is through directive information that this coordination is achieved.
REFERENCE: S.M. Zabed Ahmed, Chairman, Dept. of Information Science and Library Management, University of Dhaka
Post a Comment