Bridging the Data (and Information) Literacy Gap
Data Management | Intelligent Information Management (IIM)
While 90% of business leaders cite data literacy as key to company success, the reality is that most organizations struggle with the critical gap between having data and actually using it to drive meaningful business decisions.
In this first of three-part log post series, we’ll explore the definition of data literacy and information literacy and how they relate.
This challenge became the focal point of a recent Data Analytics Network (DAN) panel discussion I participated in, titled "Bridging the Data Literacy Gap." Alongside fellow experts Reeda Kindred from the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies and Wes Trochlil from Effective Database Management, we explored data literacy in the association community. The panel was moderated by Justin Scott, PhD, CAE with the Metals Service Center Institute. The discussion revealed both the universal nature of data literacy challenges and the innovative solutions emerging to address them.
Defining Data Literacy
Data literacy encompasses the ability to comprehend, analyze, evaluate, use, and communicate data effectively. You may think that data literacy is about data governance and data hygiene, but it's really about your capacity to leverage data and using it to make business decisions. The panel expanded the definition of data literacy to include employee capabilities and sentiment around data, noting that " data literacy is not just about having access to data; it's about empowering individuals at all levels of an organization to work with data confidently and competently."
Defining Information Literacy
An extension of data literacy, information literacy is our ability to comprehend, analyze, evaluate, use, and communicate unstructured and semi-structured data. Information is the "dark data" that exists outside tidy tabular databases, such as invoices, reports, emails, social posts, multimedia, and other content that doesn't fit into traditional database structures.
Because of the often sensitive nature and complexity of information, information literate professionals need four additional competencies beyond foundational data literacy skills:
- Broader scope: The ability to handle messy, complex data formats that exist outside traditional databases, requiring advanced techniques to extract meaningful insights from unstructured content.
- Lifecycle management: Understanding the fundamentals of information management—how to collect, store, share, leverage, and delete information throughout its entire lifecycle in a compliant and responsible way.
- Compliance awareness: Managing sensitive information in accordance with regulations and ethical standards, recognizing that unstructured data often contains personal, confidential, or regulated content.
- Strategic perspective: Recognizing information as a strategic asset that's vital for better decision-making and for building functional, successful AI solutions.
In essence, while data literacy gives you the foundation to work with organized data, information literacy equips you to navigate the much larger universe of unstructured information that organizations generate and encounter daily. Information literacy addresses the more complex challenge of making sense of data that doesn't come pre-organized, transforming it into actionable intelligence that drives business success.
Conclusion
As organizations increasingly rely on data-driven insights to guide critical business decisions, the foundation of that success rests on ensuring the integrity, accuracy, and ethical handling of the information we collect and analyze.
In my next post, I'll explore the common barriers to information and data literacy.
For AIIM+ Pro members looking to deepen their understanding of these essential principles, our new Data Integrity Essentials course explores the often-overlooked aspects of data ethics, accuracy, and responsible data management that form the bedrock of truly effective data literacy initiatives. AIIM+ Pro members can take the Data Integrity Essentials online course on-demand. Not a member? Learn more about AIIM+ Pro membership.
About Tori Miller Liu, CIP
Tori Miller Liu, MBA, FASAE, CAE, CIP is the President & CEO of the Association for Intelligent Information Management. She is an experienced association executive, technology leader, speaker, and facilitator. Previously, she served as the Chief Information Officer of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) and been working in association management since 2006. Tori is a current member of the ASAE Executive Management Advisory Council and AI Coalition. She is a former member of the ASAE Technology Professional Advisory Council and a former Board Member of Association Women Technology Champions. She was named a 2020 Association Trends Young & Aspiring Professional and 2021 Association Forum Forty under 40 award recipient. She is also an alumna of the ASAE NextGen program. She is a Certified Association Executive and holds an MBA from George Washington University. In 2023, Tori was named as a Fellow of the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE).