American organizational theorist Russel Ackoff describes the relationship between data and knowledge as “a hierarchy consisting of data, followed by information and knowledge” (Stenmark, 2001). Consequently, the relation between data and knowledge exists in the form of information. According to professor Murray E. Jennex, “Data begets information begets knowledge”. However, due to a lack of clarity in the definitions of these concepts, the “data-to-information-to-knowledge” (Wallace, 2007) transformation can at times be quite blurred.
We have established that information is the element which links data to knowledge. Moreover, “The key to understanding the intricate relationship between data, information, and knowledge lies at the source of data and information” (Liew, 2007). Indeed, on one hand, data generates information and on the other hand, information brings knowledge. Firstly, let’s analyse how data and information interact with each other.
In 1988, Russel Ackoff published the Data Information Knowledge Wisdom pyramid (also known as DIKW pyramid), a model representing those components and the relationships between them. Ackoff’s pyramid model consists…show more content… Both have been initially “organized and processed to convey understanding, experience, and have accumulated learning and expertise” (Rowley, 2007) in order to form knowledge. Consequently, knowledge builds on information that is extracted from data. However, while data for instance is “a property of things, knowledge is a property of people” (Rowley, 2007). As a matter of fact, knowledge “can be obtained either by transmission from another who has it, by instruction, or by extracting it from experience” (Rowley, 2007). Knowledge emerges in minds of people through their experience. Finally, while information is more factual, knowledge is about “beliefs and commitment” (Stenmark,
