Information Science

Information Science is the study of information and how it is used by people within organizations. Information is that which informs. In other words, it is the answer to a question of some kind. It is thus related to data and knowledge, as data represents values attributed to parameters, and knowledge signifies understanding of real things or abstract concepts. As it regards data, the information’s existence is not necessarily coupled to an observer, while in the case of knowledge, the information requires a cognitive observer. At its most fundamental, information is any propagation of cause and effect within a system. Information is conveyed either as the content of a message or through direct or indirect observation of anything. That which is perceived can be construed as a message in its own right, and in that sense, information is always conveyed as the content of a message. Information Science is important because information plays a vital role in just about everything we do in modern society. Accordingly, information systems are vital to the operation of modern organizations and information scientists are involved in almost every field of endeavor imaginable. People with information science skills are in high demand, and there are many and varied career opportunities in fields such as business, science, education, health, music and mass media. The roots of the discipline of information science lay in three post-World War II developments: the Shannon-Weaver information theory model, Norbert Wiener’s conception of the science of cybernetics, and rapid advances in the design and production of electronic computers. These innovations pointed to a new field of study in which many disciplines could be merged under the unifying idea of information. The field of Information Science is changing rapidly. Some of these changes are driven by technology. For example, the rapid adoption of mobile devices over the past few years has created opportunities for new applications and business models. Still other changes are driven by organizational or business needs. For example, in a connected world, businesses increasingly need to manage their supply chains as large-scale coordinated networks. There is also greater demand for more “intelligent” information systems. Information Science sits at the intersection of technology, people, and organizations. It is a distinct discipline and has a focus on Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) used by people to manage information within organizations. This Text covers essential topics, such as information collection, processing, storage and retrieval, presentation, and communication of information. It also encompasses study of the organizational contexts in which information is used, and of information systems that support information usage.