INFORMATION PROCESSING
Data vs Information
Data is raw facts and figures Information is the result of processed data Information processing is the acquisition ,
recording, organization, retrieval, display, and dissemination of information. (Encyclopedia Britannica)
Forms of Information Processing
Automation the act of using computers and
machines instead of human labour Process Control Commercial Data Processing Industrial Data Processing Scientific Data Processing
Assignment Write a paragraph on each of
the above forms of information processing.
Source Documents
These are documents from which data is
copied into a system e.g. Airline tickets, prescription invoices, multiple choice sheets, medical records Data may be keyed in manually or scanned into the computer using appropriate hardware and software
Turnaround documents
This is a document that has been printed by a
computer, filled out then used as a source document. Eg. Completed forms
Human Readable & Machine Readable Documents
Human Readable Documents are those in a
form for humans to read
Machine Readable Documents are those
encoded in such a way that can be easily read by computers.
The entire document dont usually have to be
readable. Usually there is a combination of both human and machine readable portions
Validation and Verification
Validation is the process by which data is checked to ensure that it is reasonable and
complete. In order to validate data you can
Range checks Reasonableness checks Data type checks Inconsistency checks
Verification is the process of confirming that the data that is entered into the computer is the
same as what was written on the source document
Difference between Verification and Validation
Verification checks to see if data was keyed in
correctly whereas validation checks whether the correct kind of data was entered
Range Checks
It makes sure that values fall between
specified minimum and maximum. Eg. Students attending secondary school ages should fall within a specific range , say 11 18 yrs
Reasonableness Checks
This determines whether values are
reasonable making sure they dont deviate from established norms E.g. if someone puts the height of a 2-yr-old as 5ft it should be flagged as unreasonable since toddlers arent so tall
Data Type Checks
This ensures that the values keyed in are the
correct type E.g when text is keyed in where the value is suppose to be numeric To prevent such problems the data entry software should be designed to validate data type.
Inconsistency Checks
These tests to see if there are any conflicts
between related data items. E.g. the ending date of a course being before the starting date of the course E.g. a discount being more than the original price of an item
File Organization
Data is stored in files and there are a number
of ways in which this is done
Sequential
Random Indexed sequential
Sequential Organization
This is when the records are physically stored
in the same order that they are logically organized Eg. Alphabetically or chronologically
Disadvantage: it is slow to access records
randomly; it takes a lot of time and effort to organize and maintain
Random Organisation
The computer calculates where each record
should be stored.
Indexed Sequential Organisation
An indexed sequential file is a sequential file
which is indexed as well so that the records can be accessed directly . This means that records can be quickly accessed both sequentially and directly
Disadvantage: it takes a lot to maintain than
a regular sequential file since the index needs to be up-to-date as well
Questions
1. What is the difference between data and information? Give an example 2. What is information processing? 3. Describe four forms of information processing 4. What is information retrieval? 5. Define the following terms
1. 2. 3. 4.
Source document Turnaround document Human-readable document Machine-readable document
Use of the Various file Organisation
Sequential Access file is used where the computer needs to search through every record
in the database.
Eg. A payroll program-when calculating pay the
program processes records in order
Random/Direct Access file is used when there is
need to quickly find one record in a large database.
Eg. A supermarket point-of-sale when the barcode is
scanned the computer must immediately find the price of that product in the large database.
AREAS OF USE
INFORMATION PROCESSING
Industrial Use
Through the use of control systems, it is
possible to
Control environment
Control processes (Process Control ) Automation
Commercial Uses
Batch Processing Information Retrieval Information management
Scientific Uses
To regulate experiments and maintain the experimental process To take measurements, with precision, over long periods, or in extreme conditions To process results, for eg by performing calculations To store data and to help search for answers To present results, for e.g. in graphs, scientific papers and presentations To keep records and to share results with other scientists.
