Understanding Information Quality Standards and their Challenges

The most developed post-industrial societies live by information, and Information and Communication Technologies keep them oxygenated. So the better the quality of the information exchanged, the more likely such societies may prosper. But what is information quality (IQ) exactly? This is a crucial and pressing question but, so far, our answers have been less than satisfactory.

In the United States, the Information Quality Act, enacted in 2000, left undefined most key concepts. So it required the Office of Management and Budget 'to promulgate guidance to agencies ensuring the quality, objectivity, utility, and integrity of information (including statistical information) disseminated by Federal agencies'. Unsurprisingly, the guidelines have received much criticism and have been under review ever since.

In the UK, some of the most sustained efforts in dealing with IQ issues have concerned the health care system. In 2001, the Kennedy Report acknowledged that: 'All health care is information driven, so the threat associated with poor information is a direct risk to the quality of healthcare service and governance in the NHS'. However, in 2004, the NHS Information Quality Assurance Consultation stressed that 'Consideration of information and data quality are made more complex by the general agreement that there are a number of different aspects to information/data quality but no clear agreement as to what these are'.

Lacking a clear and precise understanding of IQ standards (such as accessibility, accuracy, availability, completeness, currency, integrity, redundancy, reliability, timeliness, trustworthiness, usability, and so forth) causes costly errors, confusion, impasse and missed opportunities.

Part of the difficulty lies in constructing the right conceptual and technical framework necessary to analyse and evaluate them.

Some steps have been taken to rectify the situation. The first International Conference on Information Quality was organised in 1996. In 2006, the Association of Computing Machinery launched the new Journal of Data and Information Quality. The Data Quality Summit now provides an international forum for the study of information quality strategies. Pioneering investigations and research programmes have addressed applied issues, plausible scenarios and the codification of best practices. So there is a wealth of available results that could make a difference. However, such results have had limited impact because research concerning IQ has failed to combine and cross-fertilise theory and practice. Furthermore, insufficient work has been done to promote the value-adding synthesis of academic findings and technological know-how.

This knowledge transfer project seeks to bridge the gap between theoretically sound and technologically feasible studies, by bringing together the epistemological and ethical research, developed by the Principal Investigator (PI) in the philosophy of information, with the know-how of a major information service provider, Google UK.

Understanding the nature of information, its qualities and dynamics has been at the core of the PI's academic research in the philosophy of information during the past decade. The knowledge transfer concerns the PI's three most recent book and several research papers (see asterisked texts in the list of relevant publications), which synthesise his studies on the philosophy of information (see CV for research impact). Sharing and complementing this existing body of knowledge, applying it to the analysis and evaluation of IQ, and enhancing it with Google UK's technical expertise in information management will make a significant difference in establishing international IQ standards. The project will build a bridge between two communities and cultures that, so far, have not interacted successfully, leading to a two-way sharing of expertise thatwill increase the value of each partner's knowledge (additionality).

In an advanced information society like the UK, the quality of the information produced, consumed and shared (especially but not only online) has exponential repercussions socially, economically and in terms of quality of life. So the potential scope of non-academic beneficiaries of this two-way knowledge transfer is very wide.

Private sector
The project will benefit Google UK, the knowledge transfer partner. In the short term, the knowledge transfer will enhance Google's capacity to deliver information that measures up to the high standards expected by its users. The project will also develop the experience and expertise of one postdoctoral research assistant and several non-academic members of the team (Google software engineers), contributing to their skills and employability. In the medium term, the benefits enjoyed by Google UK are likely to be shared by the whole company. In the longer term, the impact of the project will contribute to the development both of good practices in IT management and of design principles favouring information quality (IQ) among internet service providers. This is plausible given Google's leading role in setting global standards.

Public sector
The project will feed into national and international policies seeking to improve IQ standards. It will benefit policy-makers interested in applying the results of the project in order to improve the delivery and effectiveness of public information services through higher IQ standards. This is plausible given the PI's collaboration with the UK National Commission for UNESCO and UNESCO Information for All Programme, the PI's involvement in the drafting of the UNESCO Code of Ethics for the Information Society, and the PI's role as advisor to the Director General of the Information Society and Media Directorate-General of the European Commission about 'Future Information Technology & Society'.

General public
Dissemination and public engagement are important parts of the project. The project will raise users' awareness of the issues affecting the value and reliability of information (especially but not only online), and encourage a more responsible production, usage, and sharing of digital resources. The outcomes will be improved IT education, a likely increase in the number of people using and trusting information (usually online), and hence enjoying its educational, cultural and social benefits. The project will also deliver benefits to the quality of life and health, insofar as they both depend on improvements in the management of IQ issues (see the reference to the NHS report mentioned in the summary). It will seek to empower users, by offering them the framework necessary to evaluate the quality of the information they access. This is plausible given the PI's collaboration with the British Computer Society (BCS, the Chartered Institute for IT), and his current participation in the reviewing process of the BCS Code of Conduct.

The future
Finally, in the very long term, public value of the knowledge transfer is difficult to specify in detail. However, it seems uncontroversial that the feasible development of high-quality informational resources creates financial benefits for business services, while enhancing experiences for users and producers. Arguably, the elaboration of clear and shareable standards of IQ is likely to provide both social and economic benefits to wider society. The project will highlight areas that most need action in order to improve production and consumption of information, and it will prime further investigations on such a vital topic. It is very well placed to contribute to the competitiveness of the UK as a knowledge economy, by indicating how information providers may satisfy higher IQ standards, and fostering a better management of information systems in general.