Data literacy — the path to information

“You can have data without information, but you cannot have information without data.”

Daniel Keys Moran

Data literacy involves much more than filling out a spreadsheet or looking at KPIs. Data literacy means feeling comfortable and secure when dealing with the available data. It is about seeing and, above all, understanding information. This empowers people to analyze data, understand the background, dare to ask questions and answer them based on facts. Only then can strategies and solutions be derived. 
Data literacy is the core competence that determines success in a digital age. The good thing is that anyone and everyone can learn how to handle data, all they need is to build up competencies. Because data alone isn't everything: we need context to gain insights. To do this, in turn, we need the ability to collect data, distinguish important from unimportant, and transform it in such a way that it meets our needs and creates added value.

You could say that data is pure raw material and information is only created after transformation by a person.

An example

Based on the knowledge pyramid, Ben Jones, pioneer of data literacy, describes the way to the top using a simple example. Suppose we have the following value in our data set “06072021” - an arbitrary sequence of numbers, a code, a password? If this value is formed in accordance with current conventions, we get the solution. 

One date, July 6, 2021.

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Jones, Ben. Data Literacy Fundamentals: Understanding the Power & Value of Data (The Data Literacy Series Book 1) (p. 6). Data Literacy Press. Kindle edition.