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. 2019 Mar 5;10(3):e224.
doi: 10.5210/ojphi.v10i3.9631. eCollection 2018.

Data, Information, Evidence, and Knowledge:: A Proposal for Health Informatics and Data Science

Olaf Dammann  1
Affiliations

Data, Information, Evidence, and Knowledge:: A Proposal for Health Informatics and Data Science

Olaf Dammann. Online J Public Health Inform. .

Abstract

In this commentary, I revisit and modify Ackoff's data-information-knowledge-wisdom (DIKW) hierarchy. I suggest to de-emphasize the wisdom part and to insert evidence between information and knowledge (DIEK). This framework defines data as raw symbols, which become information when they are contextualized. Information achieves the status of evidence in comparison to relevant standards. Evidence is used to test hypotheses and is transformed into knowledge by success and consensus. As checkpoints for the transition from evidence to knowledge I suggest relevance, robustness, repeatability, and reproducibility.

Keywords: Data; Evidence; Information; Knowledge.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Ackoff’s Knowledge (DIKW) hierarchy (left) and the DIEK modification proposed in this commentary (right)(reprinted from [3]).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Framework for the transition from data to knowledge (left) and what each level is good for (right) (reprinted from [3]).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Ackoff RL. 1989. From data to wisdom. J Appl Syst Anal. 16, 3-9.
    1. Rowley J. 2007. The wisdom hierarchy: representations of the DIKW hierarchy. J Inf Sci. 33(2), 163-80. 10.1177/0165551506070706 - DOI
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