2. Unit 2: Information Systems OCR Level 3 Cambridge Technicals in IT

3. Data v Information Most businesses generate, and often record, huge volumes of data about a wide range of activities :

4. Data v Information But humans are not good at understanding and drawing conclusions from large quantities of raw data. In order for the data to become useful it must be analysed and formatted. People can then use it to inform their decision making.

5. Data Analysis Often data analysis will consist of comparing two variables against each other to see if there is a relationship. If there is a correlation between the variables the next step may be to look for trends and to understand how one variable influences the other.

6. Data Analysis Very often one of the variables used to analyse data is time, as we look to see if variables are increasing or decreasing over time, and whether there are cyclical patterns in the data.

7. Data Management It is important to ensure that the data used for any analysis is ‘good’ data, so that any information derived from it is most likely to be correct. ‘Good’ data is accurate, relevant, complete, objective and current.

8. Information Systems There are various types of information systems, including: Most information systems are designed to help people handle large amounts of information, understand complex variables, and control simultaneous processes. Transaction processing systems Office systems Knowledge management systems Database management systems

9. What will you learn? After completing this unit you will: Be able to explain the characteristics of ‘good’ data Be able to select and use data to support business activities Understand how organisations gather, analyse and use data Be able to present data in an appropriate format for specific purposes

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