Information quality


Information quality is a contextual property of or a perspective to the content within information systems. There exist two complementary yet partially conflicting definitions of high-quality data: firstly, information is considered high quality if it is fit for its intended purpose ; secondly, it is deemed high quality if it conforms to specified requirements.
The primary distinction between these definitions is that Juran focuses on the suitability of information for its intended purpose, which can be measured by the success of its application even without direct access to or exact knowledge of the data; for example, a black-box AI with access to Wikipedia can work well for users' purposes. In contrast, Crosby emphasizes adherence to predefined specifications, assuming specific criteria rather than measuring the success of its use; for instance, informaiton in Wikipedia could be proven to be good based on criteria such as existing peer validation and academic references, even if the AI results are poor.
Numerous IQ frameworks and methodologies provide tangible approach to assess and measure DQ/IQ in a robust and rigorous manner.

Conceptual problems

Although the foundational definitions are usable for most everyday purposes, specialists often use more complex models for information quality. It has been suggested, however, that higher the quality the greater will be the confidence in meeting more general, less specific contexts.

Dimensions and metrics of information quality

"Information quality" is a measure of its fitness for use or conformance to requirements. In this way, "Quality" is considered contextual and it can then vary across users and uses of the information. The exact degree of quality is often described with dimensions such as accuracy, timeliness, completeness, and similar scales. Although a huge amount of academic research has been directed to these dimensions, there does not exist consensus on their definitions or practical usefulness.
Historically, Richard Wang and Diane Strong proposed a list of dimensions or elements used in assessing Information Quality is:
Other authors propose similar but different lists of dimensions for analysis, and emphasize measurement and reporting as information quality metrics. Larry English prefers the term "characteristics" to dimensions. In fact, a considerable amount of information quality research involves investigating and describing various categories of desirable attributes of data. Research has recently shown the huge diversity of terms and classification structures used.

Quality metrics

Source:Authority/verifiability
Authority refers to the expertise or recognized official status of a source. Consider the reputation of the author and publisher. When working with legal or government information, consider whether the source is the official provider of the information. Verifiability refers to the ability of a reader to verify the validity of the information irrespective of how authoritative the source is. To verify the facts is part of the duty of care of the journalistic deontology, as well as, where possible, to provide the sources of information so that they can be verifiedScope of coverage
Scope of coverage refers to the extent to which a source explores a topic. Consider time periods, geography or jurisdiction and coverage of related or narrower topics.Composition and organization
Composition and organization has to do with the ability of the information source to present its particular message in a coherent, logically sequential manner.Objectivity
Objectivity is the bias or opinion expressed when a writer interprets or analyze facts. Consider the use of persuasive language, the source's presentation of other viewpoints, its reason for providing the information and advertising.Integrity
  1. Adherence to moral and ethical principles; soundness of moral character
  2. The state of being whole, entire, or undiminishedComprehensiveness
  3. Of large scope; covering or involving much; inclusive: a comprehensive study.
  4. Comprehending mentally; having an extensive mental grasp.
  5. Insurance. covering or providing broad protection against loss.Validity
Validity of some information has to do with the degree of obvious truthfulness which the information carriesUniqueness
As much as 'uniqueness' of a given piece of information is intuitive in meaning, it also significantly implies not only the originating point of the information but also the manner in which it is presented and thus the perception which it conjures. The essence of any piece of information we process consists to a large extent of those two elements.Timeliness
Timeliness refers to information that is current at the time of publication. Consider publication, creation and revision dates. Beware of Web site scripting that automatically reflects the current day's date on a page.Reproducibility
Means that documented methods are capable of being used on the same data set to achieve a consistent result.

Professional associations

;IQ International—the International Association for Information and Data Quality

Information quality conferences

A number of major conferences relevant to information quality are held annually:
;Annual MIT Chief Data Officer & Information Quality Symposium
;Data Governance and Information Quality Conference
;Data Quality Asia Pacific
;Enterprise Data and Business Intelligence Conference Europe
;Information and Data Quality Conference
;International Conference on Information Quality
;Master Data Management & Data Governance Conferences