Measuring the impact of information: Defining the concepts

摘要

This paper results from the sense of frustration of the authors, as well as other authors, working in the field of measuring the impact of information on development, at the number of different definitions of information and other closely related terms and the fact that the differences significantly impede the ability of information scientists and practitioners to communicate among themselves and to build upon each others' work. We present here a compilation of definitions that have appeared in the literature with an attempt to organize and interrelate them. The goal is to provide a basis for members of the profession to have a common basis for referring to key concepts, not to specify how a given entity should be defined. The major terms included are: data, information, knowledge, impact, and development.