Definition of information

Information, in its most restricted technical sense, is a sequence of symbols that can be interpreted as a message.
Information can be recorded as signs, or transmitted as signals. Information is any kind of event that affects the
state of a dynamic system that can interpret the information.
Conceptually, information is the message (utterance or expression) being conveyed. Therefore, in a general sense,
information is "Knowledge communicated or received concerning a particular fact or circumstance".[citation
needed] Information cannot be predicted and resolves uncertainty. The uncertainty of an event is measured by its
probability of occurrence and is inversely proportional to that. The more uncertain an event, the more information
is required to resolve uncertainty of that event. The amount of information is measured in bits.
Example: information in one "fair" coin flip: log2(2/1) = 1 bit, and in two fair coin flips is log2(4/1) = 2 bits.
The concept that information is the message has different meanings in different contexts. Thus the concept of
information becomes closely related to notions of constraint, communication, control, data, form, instruction,
knowledge, meaning, understanding, mental stimuli, pattern, perception, representation, and entropy.
Information need
The purpose of a library or an information system is of course to fulfill some needs for documents and information
for users or potential users. Such needs may, for example, be related to educational activities, to research activities,
to professional activities, to recreation activities, to cultural activities or to personal development.
What users believe they need represent their subjective understanding of their need. This subjective understanding
is reflected in their information-seeking behavior. Even if this behavior may be studied objectively it is still not
useful as criteria for what is needed. What is needed is something that is able to solve the problem behind the
users' behavior.

When we go to real life problems, there are usually different opinions about how they should be understood and
how they should be addressed, including different opinions about what information is relevant to solve the
problem. In science there are different theories. Each theory implies a different answer about what information is
relevant and needed. Such questions are NOT decided by psychological investigations but by empirical and
theoretical arguments. That is why the study of different epistemologies are important in LIS. In public libraries
are culturally important book normally obtained because it is important for libraries to inform their users of their
existence. The idea of information need is thus not based on an empirical understanding but on a normative
understanding of the importance of both classical and modern literature.

Information needs are related to problems and an important issue is how problems are understood, delimited and
formulated. University teachers generally advice their students about the formulating of research problems to be
treated in theses. This process of problem formulating is intimately related to information needs: are there too
much or too little information about a topic to make it researchable within the given time-frame and
competencies? Library and information specialists may learn much about information needs by considering this
concept in relation to writing studies and research studies such as Bazerman (1994) and Allwood & Bärmark
(1999).

In cultural studies the concept of a canon is well known. This is another example that what is needed from libraries
and information services is not decided by psychological or cognitive studies but by regarding historically and
collectively established views of what is important. Of course different opinions exist, but that does not justify
methodological individualism in LIS-studies.
Quality of information
Information quality (IQ) is a term to describe the quality of the content of information systems. It is often
pragmatically defined as: "The fitness for use of the information provided."
What does "good" career information look like?
Since there is so much information out there, professionals in the field of career development have defined
characteristics that are critical. Here are the key criteria used to determine the value of career information:

ACCURATE - The information must be true, verifiable, and not deceptive. Accurate career information is based
on empirical data and can be validated by comparing sources or checking for internal consistency.
CURRENT - The information must be applicable to the present time. Keeping information current requires a
process of eliminating the old and adding the new. While some types of information are more perishable than
others, it is generally accepted that occupation and education information should be reviewed and updated at least
annually to be current.
RELEVANT - Relevant information applies to the interests of the individuals who use it for the decisions they are
facing. It should reduce a person's uncertainties about work and education while facilitating choice and planning.
Since we live and work in local labor markets rather than in national ones, the better the description of local
conditions, the more relevant it is to us. State and local information is usually more valuable than national.
SPECIFIC - For information to be specific, it must contain concrete facts. General observations are often
interesting and can provide a background for further analysis, but specific facts are essential to realistic planning
and decision making.
UNDERSTANDABLE - People using information must be able to comprehend it before they can use it. Data
must be analyzed and converted into words. The content of the message should avoid ambiguities and be
informative to the intended audiences.
COMPREHENSIVE - The information should include all the important categories within its scope of coverage.
In CIS that includes the full range of occupational opportunities, their related educational programs of study and
training, and the schools that offer them as the core. Related to that is information about money for school, looking
for work, employers and industries, working for yourself, and so on.
UNBIASED - This characteristic is about the motivation or purpose for which the information is being produced
and delivered. It is unbiased when the individual or organization delivering the information has no vested interest
in the decisions or plans of the people who are receiving the information.
COMPARABLE - The information presented should be of uniform collection, analysis, content, and format so
that you can compare and contrast the various occupations, programs of study, and schools.
These are some of the most important qualities that quality resources strive to achieve in making information
useful for planning and decision-making. Oregon resources like CIS or the Oregon Employment Department's
OLMIS should be the place to start, but they are not the only sources of information available nor should they be
the only sources someone uses. Information obtained from lots of sources creates a better picture and is more
likely to result in successful career decisions and sound educational plans. Though it can sometimes be confusing
and even conflicting, each source has its own unique strengths and limitations.
Value of information
Value-of-information (VOI) is a methods which determine the worth of acquiring extra information to help the
decision-maker. From a decision analysis perspective, acquiring extra information is only useful if it has a
significant probability of changing the decision-maker's currently preferred strategy. The penalty of acquiring
more information is usually valued as the cost of that extra information, and sometimes also the delay incurred in
waiting for the information.

VOI techniques are based on analyzing the revised estimates of model inputs that come with extra data, together
with the costs of acquiring the extra data and a decision rule that can be converted into a mathematical formula to
analyse whether the decision would alter. The ideas are well-developed but the probability algebra can be
somewhat complex, and simulation is more flexible and a lot easier for most VOI calculations.

The usual starting point of a VOI analysis is to consider the value of perfect information (VOPI), i.e. answering
the question 'What would be the benefit, in terms we are focusing on (usually money, but it could be lives saved,
etc.), of being able to know some parameter(s) perfectly?' If perfect knowledge would not change a decision, the
extra information is worthless, and if it does change a decision then the value is the difference between the
expected net benefit of the new selected option compared to that previously favoured. VOPI is a useful limiting
tool, because it tells us the maximum value that any data may have in better evaluating the input parameter of
concern. If the information costs more than that maximum value, we know not to pursue it any further.

After a VOPI check, one then looks at the value of imperfect information (VOII). Usually, the collection of more
data will decrease, not eliminate, uncertainty about an input parameter, so VOI focuses on whether the decrease in
uncertainty is worth the cost of collecting extra information. In fact, if new data are inconsistent with previous data
or beliefs that were used to estimate the parameter, new data may even increase the uncertainty.

If the data being used are n random observations (e.g. survey or experimental results) the uncertainty about the
value of a parameter has a width (roughly) proportional to 1/SQRT(n). So if you already have n observations and
would like to halve the uncertainty, you will need a total of 4n observation (an increase of 3n). If you want to
decrease uncertainty by a factor of 10 you will need a total of 100n observations (an increase of 99n). In other
words a decrease in uncertainty about a parameter value becomes exponentially more expensive the closer the
uncertainty gets to zero. Thus, if a VOPI analysis shows that it is economically justified to collect more
information before making a decision, there will certainly be a point in the data collection where the cost of
collecting data will outweigh their benefit.