The Art of Information Processing

INFORMATION PROCESSING  
 THE ART OF INFORMATION PROCESSING INTRODUCTION
Information is data that has been processed in such a way that it is meaningful to the person who receives it. Information is also referring to facts and opinions provided and received during the course of daily life. Information processing is the change of information in any manner detectable by any observer. As such it is a process that describes everything that happens (changes) in the universe from the falling of a rock to the printing of a text file from a digital computer system.
 DEFINITION
Information processing is the process of acquiring, obtaining, recording, organizing, Storing and dissemination of information. OR Information processing refers to the manipulation of digitalized information by computers and other digital electronic equipment.
 PROCEDURES FOR INFORMATION PROCESSING 
The procedures for information processing can be categorized into; 1.Collation of information 2.Organisation of information 3.Analysis of information 4.Interpretation of information
1. COLLATION OF INFORMATION: Collation is the assembly of written information into a standard order. Many systems of collation are based on numerical order or alphabetical order. Collation is a fundamental element of most office filling systems, library catalogs and reference books Benefits of collation i. It makes it faster and easy for a user to find an element in the list or to confirm that it is absent from the list. ii. Search operation can be done automatically using the binary search or manual searching. iii.The first and last element can be easily found in a given range.

2.ORGANIZATION OF INFORMATION: Organizing skills helps in arranging information in such a way that it can be used more effectively. This essentially involves the following: 1.Comparing and contrasting 2.Classifying perceptions 3.Ordering perceptions/events 4. Representing ideas/perceptions The nine basic ways of organizing information are: 1.Alphabet 6. Hierarchy 2.Category 7. Chronological 3.Continuum 8. Geographical 4.Location 9.Value Size 5.Time

3.ANALYSIS OF INFORMATION: Since information is the raw material of decision making, it is crucial to learn how to analyze it. Analysis part may be adding up numbers and averaging them or comparing information to examine the relationship of one thing to another or two things together. Two ways to analyze information are; a.) Tally sheets b.) Summary sheets

 4. INTERPRETATION OF INFORMATION: During the interpretation stage, searcher’s assess the usefulness of their information and reflect to develop personal meaning. Information requires interpretation to become knowledge. Interpretation of information involves the following 1) Inferring 2)Drawing conclusions 3)Filtering information (point of view bias etc.) 4) Comparing and contrasting 5) Determining credibility 6) Classifying 7) Evaluating information 8) Evaluating information to support or result a problem or research question...
.................................................................................freke's copy