Information
Topic: Geographical Data: Sources, Compilation and Processing · NCERT: Class 12, Ch 1 "Data - Its Source and Compilation"
Meaning
Information is a meaningful answer to a question. It can also be a meaningful clue that leads to more questions. It comes from data through logical, step-by-step (algorithmic) or statistical working. Data are the raw material and information is the finished product. Planners and geographers make decisions using information, not loose figures.
Example
Rainfall figures for many years in Barmer, western Rajasthan, are only data. When you work them out and find that Barmer gets very little rain, and that the amount changes a lot from year to year, you have information. It leads to more questions, such as how farmers there cope with drought.
Don't confuse with
- Data: data are the measurements themselves. Information is the meaning taken out of them.