Locating and Using Information
So what exactly is the difference between information and knowledge? The words are usually used interchangeably, however most professionals steer away from using them as synonyms. Knowledge is something we know, while information is what we use in building blocks to find knowledge. Knowledge is expressed in many different ways in every one's lives, we express them in the what we say, write, design, and also how we act, including gestures, body language and actions.
In chapter 6 we will cover the first steps of knowledge management, which allows you to better inform your audience's understanding of a certain topic. The knowledge management is based on four main points.
The first of which would be finding/selecting information, which is obtained by locating the information you need from sources and determine what source or bit of information would be the most useful. The second part is about organization of the information. Using indexing and cataloguing you can link relevant parts of selected information. Thirdly, the information is refined by summarizing it, and adding your own personal insight to the topic. Last but not least is the using of the information, by sharing or ‘pushing’ it to those that require it.
Classifying information and data further we find we have two sources, a primary and a secondary. The primary source is information reported directly by someone directly involved with the action or event. A secondary source on the other hand, is interpreted by a second or third person. A report or interview, for example, from an engineer would be considered a primary source, and the technical report prepared by the writer would be a secondary source.
Finding the information in itself is a daunting task. With researchers estimating information available on the internet approaching 2 exabytes (2 billion gigabytes), finding the right online database or search engine is a hard thing to pull off. Online catalogs, reference databases, web research, internal records of organizations, corporate libraries, government documents and offices, and personal observations all come into play as valuable locations to look for information for a topic.
Searching theses sources usually include a keyword search, or searching for a word, phrase, or a combination of these that relate to the topic. A subject search on the other hand, searches a database for preset categories that it will search upon. Along with these searches they can be further refined to exclude different factors such as date of the information, language, what type of information (books, magazines, presentations), and the format of the information itself.
Locating and Using Information
Personal gain as we read in Chapter 6 is achieved through hands on experience. When it comes down to getting a position at a job site, many workers well take a hands on experienced work to that of a new employee. Guidelines that will help your data be credible are as follows:
· Identify your problem
· View the experience of the worker
· Determine what observer you chose to be Viewer or a Interacting Viewer
· Take key notes for future reference
· Search for common occurrences in data rather than assumptions
· Make reports that represent the whole project
· Make an abundance in observations
· Support generalizations on your views
When it comes down to the interview process of an employer there are three basic processes in which you need to repair in also:
· Gather information on what you know and what you need to know and what you expect to learn
· Approach the interviewer and select location, how you want to get a hold of them and time, note that all of these if not chosen correctly can hamper interview abilities
· Identify what topics you like to cover to add range to the topic and provide more room to expand
Other great tips for the interview process is being able to say the interviewees name and also knowing what questions you’d like to ask. Whether it’s convergent or divergent questions you need to know what to ask. Convergent questions focus on straight answers, while divergent focus on an open ended answer and leave a lot more room for conversation. Coming prepared for a interview is essential to giving off a good impression.
Interview Guidelines
· Ask questions that can’t be answered simply and require detail
· Use knowledge you already know to further evaluate on a yes or no question to further the information that is given to you
· Make sure questions are focally responded to, to avoid rambling
· Ask one question at a time and never chain questions this can lead to confusion and misunderstanding
· Use your knowledge on the subject at hand to narrow response to what you want to know
· Have questions to convey the answers back to the topic at hand to get out of a rambling situation
· Research the topic at hand to ask questions that show you have done your research not only to impress but also to keep the respondents attention
· Refer to respondents work if able to help your questions
· Ask questions a respondent feels attacked by but not threatened to get answers
If you are not able to get a hold of the respondent or times just can’t meet up. Try reaching them by phone or e-mail. Even though face to face is preferable sometimes all that is left is a letter or a pre recording of answers and questions you both feel would be asked and answered.
Actions and Attitudes for Effective Interviewing
Interpersonal Behavior
· Be respectful
· Know the person’s name
· Address person formally
Body Language
· Show interest in topic
· Use eye contact at all times
· Watch for body language to show progress
Interviewing Conventions
· Confirm the interview beforehand
· Arrive on time never late to show a good example
· Prepare in advance for the interview ahead
· Give time for a response
· Don’t interrupt unless rambling is about to ensue
Mechanical Considerations
· Be prepared bring self notes if necessary
· Ask statistical questions to show knowledge about topic
Surveys and graphs are also good ways to view data that is considered during an interview. Some examples could be: Dual alternatives which are usually either or questions giving a quick response for the interviewer, Multiple choice questions which give the respondent a choice of answers they feel is closest to the question being asked, Rank ordering which allows the respondent to order in list of importance to them, Likert scales which allow a respondent to show their opinion on a question that was given, Completions which have the respondent fill in information where you leave blank or wonder about, Essay or open ended questions allow the respondent to express how they feel on that given question.
Four steps to credibility
1. Authorship
· Can you identify with the author?
· Is it a person, corporation, or college?
· Are they credible?
· Is there a sponsor?
2. Timeliness
· When was it posted?
· Last update?
· How often is it updated?
· Is information up to date?
3. Purpose
· Do they persuade, inform, or sell?
· Is there an intended audience?
· Is there any advertising?
4. Content
· Is the topic detailed?
· Does it confirm prior knowledge?
· Is the information fully cited?
· Can you verify claims?
· Is there spelling errors?
· Can you sense a bias to information?
Avoiding Plagiarism
Plagiarism is defined is using someone’s work as your own. Examples can be, using quotations found or heard, using someone’s ideas, Coping a process of another individual or using words or images not produced as your own. All this is avoided using citations and giving credit to where you have found the information given. You can use wording like According or This person says to give credit as a source also, paraphrasing the information at hand can save for a citation at the end rather than every sentence.
So what exactly is the difference between information and knowledge? The words are usually used interchangeably, however most professionals steer away from using them as synonyms. Knowledge is something we know, while information is what we use in building blocks to find knowledge. Knowledge is expressed in many different ways in every one's lives, we express them in the what we say, write, design, and also how we act, including gestures, body language and actions.
In chapter 6 we will cover the first steps of knowledge management, which allows you to better inform your audience's understanding of a certain topic. The knowledge management is based on four main points.
The first of which would be finding/selecting information, which is obtained by locating the information you need from sources and determine what source or bit of information would be the most useful. The second part is about organization of the information. Using indexing and cataloguing you can link relevant parts of selected information. Thirdly, the information is refined by summarizing it, and adding your own personal insight to the topic. Last but not least is the using of the information, by sharing or ‘pushing’ it to those that require it.
Classifying information and data further we find we have two sources, a primary and a secondary. The primary source is information reported directly by someone directly involved with the action or event. A secondary source on the other hand, is interpreted by a second or third person. A report or interview, for example, from an engineer would be considered a primary source, and the technical report prepared by the writer would be a secondary source.
Finding the information in itself is a daunting task. With researchers estimating information available on the internet approaching 2 exabytes (2 billion gigabytes), finding the right online database or search engine is a hard thing to pull off. Online catalogs, reference databases, web research, internal records of organizations, corporate libraries, government documents and offices, and personal observations all come into play as valuable locations to look for information for a topic.
Searching theses sources usually include a keyword search, or searching for a word, phrase, or a combination of these that relate to the topic. A subject search on the other hand, searches a database for preset categories that it will search upon. Along with these searches they can be further refined to exclude different factors such as date of the information, language, what type of information (books, magazines, presentations), and the format of the information itself.
Locating and Using Information
Personal gain as we read in Chapter 6 is achieved through hands on experience. When it comes down to getting a position at a job site, many workers well take a hands on experienced work to that of a new employee. Guidelines that will help your data be credible are as follows:
· Identify your problem
· View the experience of the worker
· Determine what observer you chose to be Viewer or a Interacting Viewer
· Take key notes for future reference
· Search for common occurrences in data rather than assumptions
· Make reports that represent the whole project
· Make an abundance in observations
· Support generalizations on your views
When it comes down to the interview process of an employer there are three basic processes in which you need to repair in also:
· Gather information on what you know and what you need to know and what you expect to learn
· Approach the interviewer and select location, how you want to get a hold of them and time, note that all of these if not chosen correctly can hamper interview abilities
· Identify what topics you like to cover to add range to the topic and provide more room to expand
Other great tips for the interview process is being able to say the interviewees name and also knowing what questions you’d like to ask. Whether it’s convergent or divergent questions you need to know what to ask. Convergent questions focus on straight answers, while divergent focus on an open ended answer and leave a lot more room for conversation. Coming prepared for a interview is essential to giving off a good impression.
Interview Guidelines
· Ask questions that can’t be answered simply and require detail
· Use knowledge you already know to further evaluate on a yes or no question to further the information that is given to you
· Make sure questions are focally responded to, to avoid rambling
· Ask one question at a time and never chain questions this can lead to confusion and misunderstanding
· Use your knowledge on the subject at hand to narrow response to what you want to know
· Have questions to convey the answers back to the topic at hand to get out of a rambling situation
· Research the topic at hand to ask questions that show you have done your research not only to impress but also to keep the respondents attention
· Refer to respondents work if able to help your questions
· Ask questions a respondent feels attacked by but not threatened to get answers
If you are not able to get a hold of the respondent or times just can’t meet up. Try reaching them by phone or e-mail. Even though face to face is preferable sometimes all that is left is a letter or a pre recording of answers and questions you both feel would be asked and answered.
Actions and Attitudes for Effective Interviewing
Interpersonal Behavior
· Be respectful
· Know the person’s name
· Address person formally
Body Language
· Show interest in topic
· Use eye contact at all times
· Watch for body language to show progress
Interviewing Conventions
· Confirm the interview beforehand
· Arrive on time never late to show a good example
· Prepare in advance for the interview ahead
· Give time for a response
· Don’t interrupt unless rambling is about to ensue
Mechanical Considerations
· Be prepared bring self notes if necessary
· Ask statistical questions to show knowledge about topic
Surveys and graphs are also good ways to view data that is considered during an interview. Some examples could be: Dual alternatives which are usually either or questions giving a quick response for the interviewer, Multiple choice questions which give the respondent a choice of answers they feel is closest to the question being asked, Rank ordering which allows the respondent to order in list of importance to them, Likert scales which allow a respondent to show their opinion on a question that was given, Completions which have the respondent fill in information where you leave blank or wonder about, Essay or open ended questions allow the respondent to express how they feel on that given question.
Four steps to credibility
1. Authorship
· Can you identify with the author?
· Is it a person, corporation, or college?
· Are they credible?
· Is there a sponsor?
2. Timeliness
· When was it posted?
· Last update?
· How often is it updated?
· Is information up to date?
3. Purpose
· Do they persuade, inform, or sell?
· Is there an intended audience?
· Is there any advertising?
4. Content
· Is the topic detailed?
· Does it confirm prior knowledge?
· Is the information fully cited?
· Can you verify claims?
· Is there spelling errors?
· Can you sense a bias to information?
Avoiding Plagiarism
Plagiarism is defined is using someone’s work as your own. Examples can be, using quotations found or heard, using someone’s ideas, Coping a process of another individual or using words or images not produced as your own. All this is avoided using citations and giving credit to where you have found the information given. You can use wording like According or This person says to give credit as a source also, paraphrasing the information at hand can save for a citation at the end rather than every sentence.
18 comments:
Josh Jenson and Lee Windschitl's review and chapter 6 was inciteful and true. I make the connection and understand the argument made in the blog that information and knowledge are terms that are not necessarily interchangeable. Information is the vast database of fact that is stored in books, computer files and even other peoples brains. Comparatively, knowledge is reletive to what you know. Hence, what is knowledge to you, may be information to another. This is why humans make excellent resources for finding information.
I think that their summary of chapter 6 was very clear. It really pointed out a difference between knowledge and information. Knowledge is something that you have aquired from some sort of information. We use our knowlege further in our lives than one would think because we get our knowledge from almost everything. We base our decisions on knowlege and how we act with everyday activities where as the information is something we see to gain the knowlege.
We all have knowledge that we use in our lives and we can't necessarily share all of our knowledge with other people. There is a difference between information and knowledge and that is that information is something that everyone can retrieve and knowledge is different for everyone. There are many ways that we can get information especially now with all the new technology. We can get information from books, articles, television, the web etc... Just a general note on the fomrat of th ebolg, I got a little confused and didn't know where to look at times so maybe next time, space it out a little more. Otherwise, good information!! :)
I always found it hard to narrow down information during reasearch. There is so much out there now on the internet that it's hard to figure out which you should use and which you should leave out. I took a library orientation class last year that really helped me learn to get around the library and the best way to find the exact info you need. It was also an easy credit. haha
the internet is one of the greatest tools ever invented. there is so much information and things that the internet can help you do. the internet is loaded with information and there are alot of different search enginge to help you find the correct information. even though there are so many different ways to find the particullar ifno that you are seeking. i often fine it hard to find very specific information on the internet. when i have to do a paper that involves me doing research, i find that the research takes easily over double the time that it takes to type.
Good job on the summarizing, even though I personally found this chapter a little boring a repetitive :) It is true though that it's important to seperate information from knowledge. Also true that information is essentially, especially now, because in our careers we will need to constantly be learning new information to advance our knowledge. The gathering of information doesn't stop after school. However, we need to make sure we know how to seperate it out since there is so much, and how to get the knowledge that we need out of it.
The internet is a good source of information. You will find almost anything that you want to know from various sites but the content is different and it’s up to you to review and choose what you are up for. Once you have found the right information then you will achieve the knowledge from the materials in that information. Another source of information is the library where there are lots of books, journals, magazines and other documents. I have always found myself relying on the internet for most of classes to find articles, white papers, tutorials that explain more from what I learn in class. For example in my industrial automation class, I’m always searching for and posting questions on the knowledge base site of Rockwell Automation. This is a place where people post questions and those who are experts or have had the same problems reply with answers. I have also subscribed to lots of forum sites related to my area of study.
This is one of the longer blogs, but still good. We were talking about similar things in our speech class and how perception affects how we know and understand words. We are constantly getting knowlege and info from birth untill death. i beleive there is a saying "I learn something new everyday".
I have always thought the same thing about knowledge and information. I know many people that know a lot of information but are not knowledgable in any way. The line can be hard to decypher. With the interview portion, I have never really thought of how it goes from the interviewer's point-of-view. Being the interviewee all the time, I have only concentrated on what the interviewer thinks and not how the process is run. Knowledge of such can greatly enhance interview performance and increase the chances of getting a job.
the review of this chapter breaks the down the interview process. this chapter was all about finding and organizing information. this might sound easy but it is not because there is so much information out there. this chapter also gives you the guidelines for how to conduct yourself in an interview. using the knowledge that you have aquired previously is key in the interview process.
A good source of information can be internet where you can find any kind of information, but it's always a tough job to select the right one. I think it's important to get knowledge from the source which enables to find the a good information out of all. So, information is something that comes along with the knowledge. To gather and organize information is not a easy task, the chapter has well sumarised solution for finding and sorting a good information.
Chapter 6 Locating and Using Information.
Finding quality information is a difficult task when you’re doing research on a project. This summary gave good information on how to go about searching and what works well. The sites online are sometimes hard to tell if the information is reliable and credible. There are a few things to look for like contract information, try calling it to see if anyone gets back to you. The resources they used in their research, when it was published online, and when or how often is it up dated.
There are tons of resources for researching information and many of them are not credible. So when you are researching for a technical document is sure to cover all your ends.
This was a very good summery of this chapter. I liked how it pointed out how to find good information when looking for it. I also like the difference between knowledge in information and how knowledge will help better you in life and how knowledge comes from information that is received. I am not a very good researcher when it comes to trying to find information for a report and this information will help me out.
Knowledge is always what you know and information is a vast database where you learn from. Other way, knowledge seems to be a part of the information. We perceive information, access it, analyze it and store it. The preciseness of the information depends on the excellent sources, research. We have advanced information systems and emerging technologies which had made the flow of information so smooth. Authorship, timeliness, purpose and content are the credibility of information and knowledge. The blog entry is elaborative and nice.
Knowledge and information definitely have major differences. We gain knowledge from all kinds of information from all different places. Usually when I need to find information on a topic I look to the Internet. However it is sometimes hard to find good information using the Internet alone. Although it takes more work to dig up information using books or articles in the library, the can sometimes provide more specific information on a certain topic.
Being able to research effectively is a very powerful tool to have in your tool box. It ranks 2nd only to the interview. The interviewis pure information straight from the source. HOWEVER, being able to ask questions does not make you a good interviewer. Following the advice that Burnett puts out is a great start. Nice job of getting it all in the blog.
I think that the group did a good job of summarizing the information from chapter six. I think that they did a good job explaining the differences between information and knowledge, and it was a distinction that I have ever really thought about before but makes total sense. Knowledge is the acquisition and retention of information that is useful to us in life, while information is gain our knowledge from. I feel that it is important for students to take all the information that we gain from our education, and narrow it down to the things that we feel are most important to us.
The summary that was written for chapter 6 seemed to be very thorough. There is a difference between knowledge and information that we all must identify in order to live our life. We use knowledge in everyday life to do anything from speaking to typing. Information is given to us by our peers, or out of books and thus we turn that into knowledge. That is why we can get alot of information and knowledge from just talking to people.
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