Difference Between Information and Knowledge

It is easy to get confused about information and knowledge. People often use the terms interchangeably, without knowing the fact that there are slight and subtle differences between information and knowledge. These two are important concepts of knowledge management system, wherein the former means processed data about someone or something, while the latter refers to useful information gained through learning and experience.

When the data collected is filtered, it turns out as information. Of the filtered information, the useful material, that is relevant to the subject, is called the knowledge. So, take a look at the given article which might help you to understand the terms further.

Content: Information Vs Knowledge

1. Comparison Chart
2. Definition
3. Key Differences
4. Conclusion

Comparison Chart

Basis for Comparison	Information	Knowledge
Meaning	When the facts obtained are systematically presented in a given context it is known as information.	Knowledge refers to the relevant and objective information gained through experience.
What is it?	Refined data	Useful information
Combination of	Data and context	Information, experience and intuition
Processing	Improves representation	Increases concisousness
Outcome	Comprehension	Understanding
Transfer	Easily transferable	Requires learning
Reproducibility	Can be reproduced.	Identical reproduction is not possible.
Prediction	Information alone is not sufficient to make predictions	Prediction is possible if one possess required knowledge.
One in other	All information need not be knowledge.	All knowledge is information.

Definition of Information

The term ‘information’ is described as the structured, organised and processed data, presented within context, which makes it relevant and useful to the person who wants it. Data means raw facts and figures concerning people, places, or any other thing, which is expressed in the form of numbers, letters or symbols.

Information is the data which is transformed and classified into an intelligible form, which can be used in the process of decision making. In short, when data turn out to be meaningful after conversion, it is known as information. It is something that informs, in essence, it gives an answer to a particular question.

The main characteristics of information are accuracy, relevance, completeness and availability. It can be communicated in the form of content of a message or through observation and can be obtained from various sources such as newspaper, television, internet, people, books, and so on.

Definition of Knowledge

Knowledge means the familiarity and awareness of a person, place, events, ideas, issues, ways of doing things or anything else, which is gathered through learning, perceiving or discovering. It is the state of knowing something with cognizance through the understanding of concepts, study and experience.

In a nutshell, knowledge connotes the confident theoretical or practical understanding of an entity along with the capability of using it for a specific purpose. Combination of information, experience and intuition leads to knowledge which has the potential to draw inferences and develop insights, based on our experience and thus it can assist in decision making and taking actions.

Conclusion

To sum up, we can say that, information are the building blocks, but knowledge is the building. Processing of data results in information, which when further manipulated or processed becomes knowledge.

Suppose a person possess plethora of information about a particular subject, but this does not mean that he/she can make a judgement or draw inferences on the basis of the available information because to make a sound judgement, one should have ample experience and familiarity with the subject, which is possible through knowledge.