Information quality

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Information quality (IQ) is a term to describe the quality of the content of information systems. Most information system practitioners use the term synonymously with data quality. However, as many academics make a distinction between data and information, some will insist on a distinction between data quality and information quality. Information quality assurance is confidence that particular information meets some context specific quality requirements.

"Information quality" is a measure of the value which the information provides to the user of that information. 'Quality' is subjective and the quality of information can vary among users and among uses of the information. Furthermore, accuracy is just one element of IQ and this can be source-dependent. Often there is a trade-off between accuracy and other aspects of the information determining its suitability for any given tasks.

[edit] Dimensions of Information Quality

The generally accepted list of elements used in assessing subjective Information Quality are those put forth in Wang & Strong (1996).:

Intrinsic IQ: Accuracy, Objectivity, Believability, Reputation
Contextual IQ: Relevancy, Value-Added, Timeliness, Completeness, Amount of information
Representational IQ: Interpretability, Ease of understanding, Concise representation, Consistent representation
Accessibility IQ: Accessibility, Access security

Data quality

[edit] References

Wang, R. & Strong, D. (1996) "Beyond Accuracy: What Data Quality Means to Data Consumers". Journal of Management Information Systems, 1996. 12(4): p. 5-34.