DATA RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

Assignment 1

Muthoni Malvin Njoroge

99904

1. Distinguish Between Data, Information, Knowledge, Wisdom. Use suitable

examples to illustrate.

Data – raw facts and statistics.

The Dictionary definition: information that is stored by a computer.

Zeleny (2006) referred to data as ‘know nothing’. Taking the perspective of the user/collector
data means nothing in that no real useful conclusions can be drawn from it. It is too discrete
and objective that findings can not be drawn from it and therefore the user needs to process
the data to get meaning.

For example, counting the number of cars that cross a certain junction over a day.

Information – processed data.

Zeleny (2006) referred to information as ‘know what’. Meaning that the data collected has
been taken through a process or processes in order to be useful in a manner of providing
answers to questions raised. Information is enough for a user to come to a certain conclusion
but often the next step of knowledge needs to be employed.

For example, who are driving the cars, what type of cars are they, what number plates do they
hold, how many people are in the cars and so on.
Knowledge

The Dictionary definition: the information, understanding and skills that you gain through
education or experience.

Zeleny (2006) described this as ‘know how’. Application of both the data and the information
in a proper manner to solve a problem with much better understanding. Knowledge requires a
degree of consistent reworking of processes to best collect as much information and carry out
judgement on them to come to a conclusion that would otherwise have been missed in the
other stages.

For example, knowing how different parts of the junction or traffic system could lead to a rise
in car numbers at certain hours due to certain reasons.

Wisdom

The Dictionary definition: the ability to make sensible decisions and give good advice
because of the experience and knowledge that you have.

This is the highest up in terms of understanding as it entails what Zeleny (2006) described as
‘know why’. This level of evaluated understanding involves coming up with not just the
causal effect relationship between given variables but digging deeper into the why of things.

For example, why is it that only at rush/lunch hour does traffic haul up on one of the roads?
By answering this using all the data, information and knowledge available wisdom gets us to
a conclusion.

2. Explain the relationship between Data Analytics and Knowledge Management.

Data analysis is the process of inspecting, cleansing, transforming and modelling data with
the goal of discovering useful information, informing conclusions, and supporting decision
making.

Simply put, it is the science of analysing raw data in order to make conclusions about that
information.
Knowledge management is the process of creating, sharing, using, and managing the
knowledge and information of an organisation. It is a multidisciplinary approach to achieve
organisational objectives by making the best use of knowledge.

Simply put, It is the systematic management of an organisation’s knowledge assets for the
purpose of creating value and meeting tactical and strategic requirements.

They come together when application is needed. Meaning that for efficient knowledge
application both knowledge management and data analytics.

3. Distinguish between Relational Database Structure, Network Database structure,

Hierarchical Database Structure, Object oriented database structure

Relational Database structure

Relations in this context means presenting the data to a user as a presentation in table format.
Hence under this structure, data is organised into one or more tables/relations of columns and
rows, with a unique key identifying each row.

Each table generally refers to one specific type of data i.e. products the company sells… The
rows are referred to as records or tuples, and the columns are attributes.

Relational database management systems have found a common use in the storage of bulk
organisation wide data like financial records or manufacturing/logistical numbers… because
they’re much easier to use than hierarchical and network databases.
Examples of such software packages are made by large tech corporations such as Microsoft,
IBM, and Oracle (with a leading market share of 48.8%).

Network Database structure

This database structure allows for many records to be linked to the same owner file. Unlike
the hierarchical model, this structure is not restricted, meaning the model allows for multiple
parent and child records to be linked. Due to this, information is easily accessed and allows
for greater flexibility. The original inventor, Charles Bachman, has had great influence on the
work under this structure and is credited for giving it its foundations in literature. The
following is an example [ CITATION Net \l 2057 ]:

Examples of database systems that use the network model are IMAGE for HP 3000 and
Integrated Data Store (IDS).

Hierarchical Database structure

As the name suggests it is a model in which the data is organised into a tree-like structure. It
was amongst the first database models to be established and used by the mainstream because
of its simplicity. Although it has lost popularity given its inflexible nature and rise of other
models.

It works by storing data into records which are then connected via links. A record in this
context means a collection of fields, and each field should contain only one value. Ideally the
model mandates that each parent record can have more than one child record, but each child
record should have only one parent. The following is an example[ CITATION Cha \l 2057 ] :

An example of a software in use today is the Windows Registry in the Microsoft Windows
operating system.

Object oriented database structure

Here, data is represented in the form of objects. It bears some form of similarity to relational
database structures. The difference comes in play as Object oriented database structures store
complex data and relationships between data directly, without mapping to relational rows and
columns.
The beauty of this database form is that it is often designed to incorporate object-oriented
programming languages such as Java and Python. Hence it has found application in the most
complex areas of work like engineering and research as it’s the best model to use in situations
carrying lots of complex data.

References
Network database model . (n.d.). Retrieved from Computer Business Research :
http://www.computerbusinessresearch.com/Home/database/network-database-model
Singh, C. (n.d.). Heirarchical model in DBMS . Retrieved from BeginnersBook :
https://beginnersbook.com/2015/04/hierarchical-model-in-dbms/

Data Integration Glossary Archived March 20, 2009, at the Wayback Machine, U.S.

Department of Transportation, August 2001.
Zeleny, M. (2006). From knowledge to wisdom: On being informed and knowledgeable,
becoming wise and ethical. International Journal of Information Technology &
Decision Making, 5 (04), 751-762.