ICT Unit 1.1

ICT Unit 1.1

1. Data Information and Knowledge

   • Data
     • Raw facts and figures with no explicit meaning
     • E.g. 23 or green
   • Information
     • Data that has been placed in context
     • E.g. 23 is the number of people on the coach
   • Knowledge
     • The understanding placed on information or the consequences associated with the facts

2. Direct and Indirect Data Sources

   • Direct
     • Info collected is exactly what the organisation wants
     • Data that has been gathered for the exact purpose it is being used for.
     • Data can become valuable and resold on to another party
     • The organistation collecting the data must pay all the costs
   • Indirect
     • Is data that is derived from the data originally collected for an entirely different purpose
     • It can be difficult to know how reliable the original data was
     • Data coming from a third party can contain unecessary material
     • The organisation may only pay a fraction of what it took to collect the data

3. Data Errors

   • Transmission
     • When data is sent electronicaslly and can become corrupt
   • Transcription
     • When data is entered in manually and a human error occurs
     • Correct data is entered but it is entered in the wrong order
   • Transposition
     • Correct data is entered but it is in the wrong order
   • Omission
     • Occur when information is left out

4. Data Validation and Verification

   • Verification
     • Procedures followed by users to prevent incorrect data being entered
     • E.g. double entry on password
     • E.g. proofreading
   • Verification
     • Types
       • Type Check
         • Data can only be entered of one type
         • E.g. numbers or letters
       • Range Check
         • Data between two values can only be entered
       • Format Check
         • Characters must comply with a preset pattern/picture
       • Length Check
       • Prescence Check
       • Lookup table
     • A check performed by the computer to ensure that the data is sensible and reasonable

5. Costs of Information

   • Hardware
     • Original Cost- the initial cost of computers, modems networking cable etc
     • Replacement- can be damaged or become obsolete
     • Maintenance- many firms will a maintenance contract with IT business to regularly check equipment
     • Storage of Info- Backups
   • Software
     • Initial Purchase- OS, Application Software, Bespoke Software
     • Upgrading Software- New versions released every few years, wider range of features
     • Licences- business needs licence to use software, renew anually
   • Consumables- paper, toners, catridges
   • Manpower
     • Cost of labour- people needed to collect and input data
     • Training