What is information?

This question is not as odd as it might seem.

For one thing, "information" means different things in different contexts. Someone studying communication theory will have a different use for the word "information" than someone studying computer science, for example.

One definition of "information" that I have read in a couple of books on information literacy referred to information as "change". According to that definition, information was any state in which something was different to what it was before. For example, if what you knew about chemistry was different after reading a chemistry text book, then you had been exposed to information. This definition owes a lot to communication theory, and is really more appropriate to that field than to information literacy (although communication theory can play a role in information literacy).

Obviously, this definition does not take into account the concept of pre-existing knowledge as information. If you read the textbook on chemistry and found that it only confirmed what you already knew, then, according to that definition, you didn't encounter any information. If nothing in your knowledge or understanding changed, then there was no information involved. Now, clearly, the textbook held information, it just didn't have any new information as far as you were concerned.

In the world of research and academia, information that is already known and can be confirmed is as useful and valid as any new information that you might discover, so the definition of "information as change" is somewhat inadequate.

A better, if messier, definition for "information" is the old proverb (often attributed to Confucius): "know what you know and know what you do not know". It could be argued that this proverb defines knowledge rather than information, but information is in there. It's the "what" in that saying. When you know something, information is that "something" that you know. When you do not know something, information is that "something" that you don't know.

To be information literate, it is important to know what you do know and know what you don't know.

For example, I might think I know what the chemical symbol for gold is on the elemental chart. However, if I only think I know it, then I don't really know it. I could be wrong, after all. If I looked it up and found out that I was correct, then I would know that I actually know this information - that it is correct and true and I can rely on this knowledge with some confidence.

In this way, reading the textbook on chemistry would still be important even if it doesn't add anything knew to my knowledge because it helps me to know that what I know is correct.

This is what I mean by "know what you know" - you can recognise the difference between what you think you know (which you might remember hearing somewhere or reading once) and what you actually do know (because you have learnt this information and can find a source that will back you up if you need it).

Now when it comes to "know what you do not know", there are two sides to that coin. On the one hand, I can know that I need to look something up because I only think I know it - I don't actually know if I know it. On the other hand, there are things I know that I definitely do not know. These I the things I have never learnt, the questions I have no answer for at present.

I might think I know the symbol for gold, but know I have no idea what the symbol for magnesium oxide is. Or, I can know that I do not know where iron is on the elemental chart. When I find out, this is new information - the "information as change" that we were talking about before. It also turns into something I know I know.

The whole purpose of information literacy is to take the second form of information (what you know you do not know), and take steps to turn it into the first type of information (what you know you know). Knowing what those steps are and how to take them is what it means to be information literate.

While there are many skills involved with becoming information literate (and I'll be discussing many of them here), they all start with three simple questions:

"Do I know this information?"

"If I don't know it, do I know where to look for it?"

"If I don't know where to look for it, do I know where to find out?"

The aim is to be able to answer "yes" to those last two questions most of the time.

What is Information Literacy?

Information Literacy is the ability to find, sort and evaluate information so that it becomes something useful.

Information is held in many forms in many locations. In order to produce good, relevant research you need to know where to look for information, what to look for, and how to tell if it is good and useful.

This blog will help you learn skills that will improve your ability to find good information, and encourage the development of good research practices.