mSystem which provides information

support for decision making in

organization
mIntegrated system of man and machine for
providing information to support
operations, management and decision
making functions in the organization
mSystem based on database of organization
evolved for the purpose of providing
information to people of organization
mComputer based information system

1
@
andling voluminous data
2 Confirmation of validity of data and
transaction
3 Complex processing of data and
multidimensional analysis
4 uick search and retrieval
5 ass storage
6 Communication of information system to
user on time
7 ulfilling challenging needs of infomation

2
V Collection of appropriate data from
various sources, processing, forwarded to
needy destinations
V Transaction processing, query
processing, status of records, reference of
documents
V Provides operational data for planning,
scheduling, target setting and control
V Information generation, communication,
problem identification, decision making
3
V ïfficiency
V Tracking
V onitoring
V Directioning
V Systematization
V Better understanding of business
V ocus
V Transaction processing and data base

4
V Planning
V organizing
V Staffing
V Coordinating
V Directing
V Controlling

5
 I

Busi ss G ls
issi
A lic ti f Pur
ci l ci c
A lic ti f ri ci l s f
gmt Pr ctic s f gmt
Us f t b s k l g b s

I E t r ris ft r

6
 ïIS
Business Information System
ission critical Application
unctional Information Application
Database and knowledge base
Data Processing and Analysis systems
IT and ïnterprise Software

7
 easure
ïstablish Performance Corrective
Standards of Actual Action
performance Vs STD

No Action

Ä
V ïarly warning echanism
V Performance Standard
V Strategic Controls
V eedback
V Realistic
V Information low
V ïxception Principle
V anagement by ïxception: Pareto
Principle
9
V The °

 
 £also known as the  

, the

 and the

 
 

) states that, for many events, roughly Ä
of the effects
come from 2
of the causes
V Business management thinker Joseph  Juran suggested the principle and named it
after Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto, who observed in @9 6 that Ä
of the land in Italy
was owned by 2
of the population; he developed the principle by observing that 2

of the pea pods in his garden contained Ä
of the peas
V It is a common rule of thumb in business; e g , "Ä
of your sales come from 2
of your
clients" athematically, where something is shared among a sufficiently large set of
participants, there must be a number a between 5 and @ such that "a
is taken by
£@ ‰ a)
of the participants" The number a may vary from 5 £in the case of equal
distribution, i e @
of the population have equal shares) to nearly @ £when a tiny
number of participants account for almost all of the resource) There is nothing special
about the number Ä
mathematically, but many real systems have a somewhere around
this region of intermediate imbalance in distribution
V The Pareto principle is only tangentially related to Pareto efficiency, which was also
introduced by the same economist Pareto developed both concepts in the context of the
distribution of income and wealth among the population

@
Decisions in management
6    
Planning Selection from various alternatives:
Strategies, resources, methods, etc
Organisation Selection of combination out of
several combination of goals,
people, resource, method and
authority
Staffing Proper manpower complement
Directing Choose a method from various
methods of directing efforts in
organization
Coordinating Choice of tools and techniques for
coordinating efforts for optimum
results
Controlling Selection for exceptional conditions @@
 anagement
Attitude towards effectiveness
Planning
ïmployees,
Consumers,
Organizing
Suppliers, Govt Staffing
Community, Directing
Shareholders Coordinating
Controlling
ïnterprise
effectiveness
Social,
ïconomical,
ïducational,
Political, Legal

@2
V ïBusiness
V ïCommerce
V ïcommunication
V ïcollaboration

@3
VB 2 C: websites and portals for information
related to products through multimedia
clippings, catalogs, product configuration
guidelines, customer histories,
V B2 B: Buyer and seller both are organizations
They exchange technical and commercial
information through websites and portals
V C 2 B: Customer initiates actions by logging
onto sellers websites or servers
V C 2 C: Customer participates in buying and
selling through auction websites
@4
j
 



  
°
  ° 

 

 °
 

Servicing Delivery Processing

Problem Solving Dispatching
Support Customer Acceptance

@5
V Issuingbusiness circular
V Product catalogues publication
V News Clippings
V essaging

@6
V Order Processing
V Order ïxecution
V Payment Processing
V oney Transfer

@7
V Organisation anual
V Database of Knowledge
V Business information

@Ä
V Payments to ïmployee
V Issue of Shares/Bonds
V Delivery through courier

@9
V Downloading of Information from
website/portal
V Viewing of Bank balance
V Seeing
anuals/drawings/pictures/images and
so on

2
V Requesting an item
V Obtain Travel Advance
V Inquiry processing
V Credit card payments
V Cash Withdrawal through AT

2@
V essaging email
V Reports
V News groups
V Interests groups

22
V Payment Approvals
V emos
V Sanctions and confirmations
V Issues and receipts

23
V Network Access providers: ISP, ïDI, DoT
V Information Access Providers: Browsers
such as Netscape, Adobe and Internet
ïxplorer
V Payment Processors: aster Card, Visa
V Website Design Providers: Consultants
and web developing companies
V Web directory providers: Yahoo, Alta
Vista and Lycos
24
6
  
   !

Internet Banking ICICI: www icici com B2C

DC: www hdfc com C2B
Complete Business B
PVL: www bhpvl com B2B
Cycle Dalmia Industries: B2B
www dalmiaindustries c
om

Billing Citibank B2C

Bill payments ICICI B2B

www Billjunction com B2B and C2B
News sharing Times of India B2C
www timesofindia com
Tendering Gujrat Refineries B2B
www gujrefin com
Greetings/messaging Through ISP C2C
VSNL, TNL
25
V Web master
V Content provider
V Web Designer
V Content designer
V Web Developer/programmer
V Web Administrator

26
6
  
   !

Buying Satyam Infoway C2B

www satyaminfoway co
m
Selling Gloster Cables B2B
www glostercables com
Information Sharing IT space B2B
www itspace com B2C

Servicing LG Ltd B2C

www lgsi com
Configuring of product IB/Dell/LG C2B
and complete business
cycle

27
V
 
 ", commonly referred to as
"!" or " "",or an internet
business, may be defined as the application of
information and communication technologies
£ICT) in support of all the activities of business
Commerce constitutes the exchange of products
and services between businesses, groups and
individuals and can be seen as one of the
essential activities of any business ïlectronic
commerce focuses on the use of ICT to enable
the external activities and relationships of the
business with individuals, groups and other
businesses

2Ä
V ïlectronic business methods enable companies to
link their internal and external data processing
systems more efficiently and flexibly, to work more
closely with suppliers and partners, and to better
satisfy the needs and expectations of their
customers
V In practice, ebusiness is more than just ecommerce
While ebusiness refers to more strategic focus with
an emphasis on the functions that occur using
electronic capabilities, ecommerce is a subset of an
overall ebusiness strategy ïcommerce seeks to
add revenue streams using the World Wide Web or
the Internet to build and enhance relationships with
clients and partners and to improve efficiency using
the ïmpty Vessel strategy Often, ecommerce
involves the application of knowledge management
systems

29
V ïbusiness involves business processes spanning the entire
value chain: electronic purchasing and supply chain
management, processing orders electronically, handling
customer service, and cooperating with business partners
Special technical standards for ebusiness facilitate the
exchange of data between companies ïbusiness software
solutions allow the integration of intra and inter firm
business processes ïbusiness can be conducted using the
Web, the Internet, intranets, extranets, or some combination
of these
V Basically, electronic commerce £ïC) is the process of
buying, transferring, or exchanging products, services,
and/or information via computer networks, including the
internet ïC can also be benefited from many perspective
including business process, service, learning, collaborative,
community ïC is often confused with ebusiness

3
V 
 
 is a branch of computer
security specifically related to the Internet
Its objective is to establish rules and
measures to use against attacks over the
Internet
V The Internet represents an insecure channel
for exchanging information leading to a
high risk of intrusion or fraud, such as
phishing
V Different methods have been used to
protect the transfer of data, including
encryption
3@
V 


 

V TCP/IP can be made secure with the help of
cryptographic methods and protocols that have been
developed for securing communications on the
Internet These protocols include SSL and TLS for
web traffic, PGP for email, and IPsec for the network
layer security
V ° °
 

V This protocol is designed to protect communication

in a secure manner using TCP/IP It is a set of security
extensions developed by IïT, and it provides
security and authentication at the IP layer by using
cryptography To protect the content, the data is
transformed using encryption techniques

32
V j


j 
 #$jj %
V Iï transforms nonASCII data at the sender's site to
Network Virtual Terminal £NVT) ASCII data and delivers it to
client's Simple ail Transfer Protocol £STP) to be sent
through the Internet
V The server STP at the receiver's side receives the ASCII
data and delivers it to Iï to be transformed back to the
original nonASCII data
V 6 
&j


j 
 #
$6&jj %
V S/Iï provides a consistent means to securely send and
receive Iï data S/Iï is not only limited to email but
can be used with any transport mechanism that carries
Iï data, such
ypertext Transfer Protocol £
TTP)

33
V irewalls impose restrictions on incoming and
outgoing packets to and from private networks All
the traffic, whether incoming or outgoing, must pass
through the firewall; only authorized traffic is allowed
to pass through it
V irewalls create checkpoints between an internal
private network and the public Internet, also known
as |
a
 irewalls can create choke points
based on IP source and TCP port number
V They can also serve as the platform for IPsec Using
tunnel mode capability, firewall can be used to
implement VPNs irewalls can also limit network
exposure by hiding the internal network system and
information from the public Internet

34
 The Internet revolution seems to be in full swing, but is India really plugged into
the global community it represents? aybe yes, maybe no

As the Internet spins a web of interconnectivity around the globe, as it grows

literally by the hour, India is struggling, not to catch up but to keep from falling
further and further behind

Inside India, things do seem to be improving ive years ago there was limited
Internet access but only in a few major cities, all in the hands of the
government VSNL, the agency responsible for Internet activities, and the DOT
£Department of Telecommunications) provided an agonizingly erratic connectivity,
with miserly bandwidth and far too few phone lines Connection rates ran as low as
5
£for every 2 dialups you might get connected once) and users were frequently
cut off And the rates for this pathetic level of service were among the highest in
the world Domestic users paid about $2 per hour, and lease lines, for the few
companies that could afford them, ranged over $2 per month for a 64 Kbps
line By the end of @99Ä, after three years of government monopoly, there were
barely @5 , Internet connections in India

35
 Today £midyear 2 ) the government monopoly is largely
over Dozens of small to large Internet Service Providers have set
up shop, triggering a price war and an improvement of
service Users are now estimated at over 2 million, with a growth
predicted to reach 5 million in the next five years Small Internet
kiosks have set up even in small towns, and the governments, both
State and Central are pushing for growth in the Internet
sector Internet is the new buzzword The many small tutorial
colleges that pushed computer software courses of variable
quality are now in a hard sell scramble to push Net related
content The Internet represents the new wealth frontier for the
middle classes  a good salary and a clean job, and for a few, the
chance to go abroad
There has been a great increase in Indian content on the
Internet any net entrepreneurs have been quick to realize the
huge potential of the global market Initially, most sites targeted
the global Diaspora of Overseas Indians who had more access to
the Internet, not to mention the credit cards that drive Net
commerce But there is a growing realization that the Net can
reach the large and wealthy Indian iddle class This group is
rapidly plugging into the Net £still out of range for most people
here) and there is increased use of credit cards

36
 Additionally, Business to Business £B2B) transactions are on the increase though there is
no accurate estimate of the current or projected volumes or Indian businesses
interested in an overseas market the Net provides an efficient medium of
communications  a factor that has retarded a great deal of trade in the past ïmail and
web sites are available 24 hours a day And for the large and growing software industry,
the Internet offers the ability to reach a client, respond to problems on a real time basis,
and transfer products instantly with the click of a mouse India exports billions of dollars
of software annually, and the industry is growing rapidly The Internet represents so
much potential for India, and the demand for efficient Internet infrastructure is growing
rapidly This is where India has been failing The demand has not yet been met
efficiently and this represents an enormous barrier to business and societal
development
ïven the government, which has monopolized infrastructure development until recently,
has recognized it must not hold back this development They have opened the industry
to private entrants and promised support In practice, though, the vast bureaucracies
that implement £theoretically) the government programs have moved sluggishly and
ineffectively or instance, the private ISPs that were allowed were initially required to
acquire their bandwidth from VSNL which wanted a country wide monopoly on this
lucrative sector The result, new users signing up competed for increasingly limited
bandwidth Now the ISPs have been allowed to establish their own gateways but the
effect has not yet been felt extensively The DOT, responsible for providing phone lines
to ISPs lagged way behind and the new providers are often left with far too few lines to
service the increased demand Lease lines are reduced, though still very expensive 
approximately $@ per month for a 64 Kbps line

37
Some cities in India have developed more efficiently than others Reports suggest
that Bangalore and adras currently offer better bandwidth Of course, this is all
relative to the pathetic service people were forced to put up with in the
past
yderabad, where the INDAX offices are located, is trying to promote a cyber
savvy image, but the reality is still very poor We cannot justify a lease line £though
reports are that prices are due to drop significantly soon), but rely on a dial up
connection that only really works well in the early hours of the morning or late at
night It is not unusual to be unable to get a productive connection for hours at a
time during the day, even though we use four or more ISPs And this poor
connectivity still costs us hundreds of dollars a month Needless to day, the
frustration is acute Not to mention loss of productivity Our experience, multiplied
by that of millions of other small business across the country, amounts to billions of
dollars of lost potential business each year This is a horrific waste
Looking at India from a global perspective, it is difficult to see how India can
actually catch up Advances in technology, connectivity, and usage of the net are
increasing so rapidly that even in developed countries it is hard to keep up At
present, the percentage of Indians connected to the Net is less than a fraction of one
percent ïven if it soars to 5 million over the next five years, as predicted, that
represents at most 5
of the population

3Ä
V And how can this amount of growth occur over the next five years when the
infrastructure of both the Internet and the telephone network is already far behind
current demand? In developed countries, telephone networks had basically
reached saturation when the Internet arrived The problem was primarily to
provide the increased bandwidth and line usage the Net demands In India the
telephone network is antiquated, overextended and only reaches a fraction of the
population which is interested in getting a phone Internet demand is straining the
telephone system further

Private ISPs have entered the arena, and though they were initially stymied by both
uncooperative government agencies and by lack of existing infrastructure, there is
some promise here There are also experiments with wireless and cable
connections, but even here an antiquated infrastructure and government
obstructionism are problems Businesses are relying more and more on aspects of
the Internet ïmail, for instance, is a huge asset to companies And more and more
companies are entering into web related business activities, like web site creation,
software development, and various service oriented businesses that utilize the Net,
like medical transcription or data processing for overseas companies

In any event, it seems likely that in the future those that can pay for it will have
adequate access to the great global community As in even developed countries,
those that can't pay for it, or lack the skills to use it, will be left
behind Unfortunately in India, this disadvantaged group will still be the majority
well into the current century Until the country can mobilize the resources, the
education, and the infrastructure to provide a much larger section of its population
both the means and the reason to access the Internet, India will not truly join the
global community 39
And how can this amount of growth occur over the next five years when the infrastructure of both the
Internet and the telephone network is already far behind current demand? In developed countries,
telephone networks had basically reached saturation when the Internet arrived The problem was
primarily to provide the increased bandwidth and line usage the Net demands In India the telephone
network is antiquated, overextended and only reaches a fraction of the population which is interested
in getting a phone Internet demand is straining the telephone system further
Private ISPs have entered the arena, and though they were initially stymied by both uncooperative
government agencies and by lack of existing infrastructure, there is some promise here There are
also experiments with wireless and cable connections, but even here an antiquated infrastructure and
government obstructionism are problems Businesses are relying more and more on aspects of the
Internet ïmail, for instance, is a huge asset to companies And more and more companies are
entering into web related business activities, like web site creation, software development, and various
service oriented businesses that utilize the Net, like medical transcription or data processing for
overseas companies
In any event, it seems likely that in the future those that can pay for it will have adequate access to the
great global community As in even developed countries, those that can't pay for it, or lack the skills to
use it, will be left behind Unfortunately in India, this disadvantaged group will still be the majority
well into the current century Until the country can mobilize the resources, the education, and the
infrastructure to provide a much larger section of its population both the means and the reason to
access the Internet, India will not truly join the global community

4
4@
   6" 

4/@/@@ Cookies, irewall

6/@/@@ IS Software

@@/@/@@ Pareto Principle

@2/@/@@ Profit Centre

@/2/@@ Case Study

42
V  ' ïlementary description of things,
events, activities and transactions that are
recorded, classified and stored but are not
organized to convey any specific meaning
V 
 ' Data organized so that they have
meaning and value to the recipient
V [
' Data and/or information
organized and processed to convey
understanding, experience, accumulated
learning and expertise as they apply to a
current problem or activity

Chapter @ Copyright 2 7 Wiley & Sons, Inc

43
V 
 ( 



 
'The physical facilities, IT
components, IT services and IT
management that support an entire
organization

Chapter @ Copyright 2 7 Wiley & Sons, Inc

44
V 
 6$6%' Collects,
processes, stores, analyzes and
disseminates information for a specific
purpose
V 
" 
 6
$!6%' An information system that uses
computer technology to perform some or
all of its intended tasks

Chapter @ Copyright 2 7 Wiley & Sons, Inc

45
V Think of   as a "raw material"  it needs to be processed
before it can be turned into something useful
ence the
need for "data processing" Data comes in many forms 
numbers, words, symbols Data relates to transactions,
events and facts On its own  it is not very useful
V Think of the data that is created when you buy a product
from a retailer This includes:
 Time and date of transaction £e g @ : 5 Tuesday 23
December 2 3)
 Transaction value £e g £55 )
 acts about what was bought £e g hairdryer, cosmetics
pack, shaving foam) and how much was bought £quantities)

ow payment was made £e g credit card, credit card
number and code)
 Which employee recorded the sale
 Whether any promotional discount applied

46
V At its simplest, this data needs processing at the

 in order for the customer to receive
a valid receipt So the data about the transaction
is processed to create "information"  in this case
a receipt
V You can imagine that the same data would also
be useful to the manager of the retail store
V or example, a report showing total sales in the
day, or which are the bestselling products So
the data concerning all shop transactions in the
day needs to be captured, and then processed
into a management report

47
V 
     "

     "
 


 '
V Note the two words highlighted in red 
"processed" and "meaningful" It is not
enough for data simply to be processed it
has to be of use to someone  otherwise why
bother?!
V ¢
  !
V Businesses and other organizations need
information for many purposes: we have
summarized the five main uses in the table
below

4Ä
°

To plan properly, a business needs to know what resources it has
£e g cash, people, machinery and equipment, property,
customers) It also needs information about the markets in which it
operates and the actions of competitors At the planning stage,
information is important as a key ingredient in decisionmaking


Information about each transaction or event is needed uch of this
is required to be collected by law  e g details of financial
transactions Just as importantly, information needs to be recorded
so that the business can be properly managed
  
Once a business has produced its plan it needs to monitor progress
against the plan  and control resources to do so So information is
needed to help identify whether things are going better or worse
than expected, and to spot ways in which corrective action can be
taken

 
Performance must be measured for a business to be successful
Information is used as the main way of measuring performance
or example, this can be done by collecting and analyzing
information on sales, costs and profits

49


Information used for decisionmaking is often categorized into three
types:
$)%6
 
 * used to help plan the objectives of the
business as a whole and to measure how well those objectives are
being achieved ïxamples of strategic information include:
 Profitability of each part of the business
 Size, growth and competitive structure of the markets in which a
business operates
 Investments made by the business and the returns £e g profits,
cash inflows) from those investments
$%( 

 * this is used to decide how the resources of
the business should be employed ïxamples include:
 Information about business productivity £e g units produced
per employee; staff turnover)
 Profit and cash flow forecasts in the short term
 Pricing information from the market
$+%


 * this information is used to make sure
that specific operational tasks are carried out as
planned/intended £i e things are done properly) or example, a
production manager will want information about the extent and
results of quality control checks that are being carried out in the
manufacturing process

5
V 6

This revision note has outlined
the main kinds of information It is
important that you understand the
difference between data and information,
explain the role that information plays in
a business, and distinguish between the
main kinds of information

5@
Information Description
System
Executive Support Systems þ
Executive Support System ("ESS") 
 




 
   



 

 
 

 
   


  

 
 

  


 

 

þ



  





  
 

 
   







 
   
 

  
 
 





 

 






 





 

 


 




 
 






   

52
[nowledge [ 

   
 
[!




 

Management 
 
 
   
" 








Systems  
 
 



 

 


  

 

 

 



 
 


 
 

 
#
 


 

 



  
 
   

 
 
[



 
 
 



 

  


 

$
 

 

 



 

  


 

  
 
%% 
  
  



 
"
 
 
 


[








 



  

53
Œffice Œ
þ 
 

 
 


 
 

Automation 

 

 




 

Systems    
% 
 

 


 

 



 
 


 
 



 

 





Œ
&%!


 
 



 




 

 



 

Decision- ' 
 
'!




 


Support 

   

 

 
 
 


Systems   

 


 

 
 

'
 


 
 (



 

 

  
 
 
  
 
 

 
'


 



 

 
 




 



54
ransaction þ
 
 
 

" 
% 
 
"%!

Processing 
 


 
  
 

 

Systems 

þ
 





  
 !
"%)


 
*
 +

 
 

 
 

 

  




 


 
 



 


  
 %
 
  
 








(  
 
 

 




  
 
 

 


 
 
Management þ
management information system ("MIS") 



Information   

  



   





Systems 


 
 
 
 


!

 
 ,

 



   



 






   
 

 



55
ransaction As the name implies, ransaction Processing Systems
Processing ("PS") are designed to process routine transactions
Systems efficiently and accurately. A business will have several
(sometimes many) PS; for example:
- Billing systems to send invoices to customers
- Systems to calculate the weekly and monthly payroll and
tax payments
- Production and purchasing systems to calculate raw
material requirements
- Stock control systems to process all movements into,
within and out of the business

Œffice Œ
þ 
 

 
 


 

Automation  


 

 




 

Systems    
% 
 

 


 

 



 
 


 
 



 

 





Œ
&%!


 
 



 




 

 



 


56
V Subject to executive management review, the agency unit that is the designated owner of
a record £paper or electronic, including automated files, or databases) is responsible for
making the determination as to whether that record, file, or database should be
classified as public, or confidential, and whether it contains personal, and/or sensitive
data The owner of the record, file, or data is responsible for defining special security
precautions that must be followed to ensure the integrity, security, and appropriate level
of confidentiality of the information
V The state's records, automated files, and databases are essential public resources that
must be given appropriate protection from unauthorized use, access, disclosure,
modification, loss, or deletion ïach agency must classify each record, file, and database
using the following classification structure:
@ Public Information  information maintained by state agencies that is not exempt from
disclosure under the provisions of the California Public Records Act or other
applicable state or federal laws

2 Confidential Information  information maintained by state agencies that is exempt

from disclosure under the provisions of the California Public Records or other
applicable state or federal laws

57
V Sensitive Information and Personal Information, as defined below, may
occur in Public Information and/or Confidential Information Records,
files, and databases containing sensitive and/or personal information
require special precautions to prevent inappropriate disclosure When
confidential, sensitive or personal information is contained in public
records, procedures must be used to protect it from inappropriate
disclosure Such procedures include the removal, redaction or otherwise
masking of the confidential, sensitive or personal portions of the
information before a public record is released or disclosed
V While the need for the agency to protect data from inappropriate
disclosure is important, so is the need for the agency to take necessary
action to preserve the integrity of the data Agencies must develop and
implement procedures for access, handling, and maintenance of personal
and sensitive information
@ Sensitive Information  information maintained by state agencies that
requires special precautions to protect from unauthorized use, access,
disclosure, modification, loss, or deletion Sensitive information may be
either public or confidential It is information that requires a higher than
normal assurance of accuracy and completeness Thus the key factor for
sensitive information is that of integrity Typically, sensitive information
includes records of agency financial transactions and regulatory
actions

5Ä
2 Personal Information  information that identifies or describes an
individual as defined in, but not limited by, the statutes listed
below This information must be protected from inappropriate
access, use, or disclosure and must be made accessible to data
subjects upon request

 Noticetriggering personal information  specific items or personal information

£name plus Social Security Number, driver's license/California identification
card number, or financial account number) that may trigger a requirement to
notify individuals if it is acquired by an unauthorized person See Civil Code
Sections @79Ä 29 and @79Ä 3

 Protected
ealth Information  individually identifiable information created,

received, or maintained by such organizations as health care payers, health
care providers, health plans, and contractors to these entities, in electronic or
physical form State laws require special precautions to protect from
unauthorized use, access or disclosure See Confidentiality of edical
Information Act, Civil Code Section 56 et seq and the Patients' Access to
ealth
Records Act,
ealth and Safety Code Sections @23@ @23@49 5

59
 ïlectronic
ealth Information  individually identifiable health
information transmitted by electronic media or maintained in
electronic media ederal regulations require state entities that
are health plans, health care clearinghouses, or health care
providers that conduct electronic transactions to ensure the
privacy and security of electronic protected health information
from unauthorized use, access, or disclosure See
ealth
Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, 45 C  R parts @6
and @64

 Personal Information for Research Purposes  personal

information requested by researchers specifically for research
purposes Releases may only be made to the University of
California or other nonprofit educational institutions and in
accordance with the provisions set forth in the law, including
the prior review and approval by the Committee for the
Protection of
uman Subjects £CP
S) of the California
ealth
and
uman Services Agency before such information is
released See Civil Code Section @79Ä 24£t)

6
V Datacollection techniques allow us to  

 collect
information about our objects of study £people, objects,
phenomena) and about the settings in which they occur
V In the collection of data we have to be systematic If data are
collected haphazardly, it will be difficult to answer our research
questions in a conclusive way
V # 
*
During a nutrition survey three different weighing scales were
used in three villages The researchers did not record which scales
were used in which village After completion of the survey it was
discovered that the scales were not standardized and indicated
different weights when weighing the same child It was therefore
impossible to conclude in which village malnutrition was most
prevalent

6@
Various data collection techniques can be
used such as:

V Using available information

V Observing
V Interviewing £facetoface)
V Administering written questionnaires
V ocus group discussions
V Projective techniques, mapping, scaling

62
V Usuallythere is a large amount of data that
has already been collected by others,
although it may not necessarily have been
analyzed or published Locating these
sources and retrieving the information is a
good starting point in any data collection
effort
V 
# 
, analysis of the information
routinely collected by health facilities can
be very useful for identifying problems in
certain interventions or in flows of drug
supply, or for identifying increases in the
incidence of certain diseases
63
V The use of 
  is another
important technique to gain access to
available information Key informants could
be knowledgeable community leaders or
health staff at various levels and one or two
informative members of the target group
They can be involved in various stages of
the research, from the statement of the
problem to analysis of the data and
development of recommendations Other
sources of available data are  

and published 
, e g , patients
suffering from serious diseases, or their
relatives, telling their experiences and how
they cope 

64
V *
V In order to retrieve the data from available sources, the
researcher will have to design an instrument such as a
checklist or compilation sheet In designing such
instruments, it is important to inspect the layout of the source
documents from which the data is to be extracted or health
information system £
IS) data, for example, the data
compilation sheet should be designed in such a way that the
items of data can be transferred in the order in which the
items appear in the source document This will save time
and reduce error
V The advantage of using existing data is that collection is
inexpensive
owever, it is sometimes difficult to gain access
to the records or reports required, and the data may not
always be complete and precise enough, or too
disorganised

65
V OBSïRVATION is a technique that involves
systematically selecting, watching and recording
behaviour and characteristics of living beings,
objects or phenomena
V "
  " 
is a muchused
data collection technique It can be undertaken in
different ways:
V °
  "
 * The observer takes part in
the situation he or she observes £or example, a
doctor hospitalised with a broken hip, who now
observes hospital procedures ¶from within· )
V  
  "
 * The observer
watches the situation, openly or concealed, but does
not participate

66
V Observations can be  £e g , ¶shadowing· a health worker with
his/her permission during routine activities) or  
 £e g ,
¶mystery clients· trying to obtain antibiotics without medical
prescription) They may serve different purposes Observations
can give additional, more accurate information on behaviour of
people than interviews or questionnaires They can also check on
the information collected through interviews especially on
sensitive topics such as alcohol or drug use, or stigmatising
diseases or example, whether community members share drinks
or food with patients suffering from feared diseases £leprosy, TB,
AIDS) are essential observations in a study on stigma
V "
  " 
can form part of any type of
study, but as they are time consuming they are most often used in
smallscale studies
V "
  can also be made on ",  or example, the
presence or absence of a latrine and its state of cleanliness may
be observed
ere observation would be the major research
technique
V If observations are made using a defined scale they may be called
 
 easurements usually require additional tools
or example, in nutritional surveillance we measure weight and
height by using weighing scales and a measuring board We use
thermometers for measuring body temperature

67
V An INTïRVIïW is a datacollection technique
that involves oral questioning of respondents,
either individually or as a group
V Answers to the questions posed during an
interview can be recorded by writing them down
£either during the interview itself or immediately
after the interview) or by taperecording the
responses, or by a combination of both
V Interviews can be conducted with varying
degrees of flexibility The two extremes, high and
low degree of flexibility, are described below:

6Ä
V 
# 
*
V When studying sensitive issues, the
investigator may use a list of topics rather
than fixed questions The investigator
should have an additional list of topics
ready when the respondent falls silent
V The sequence of topics should be
determined by the flow of discussion It is
often possible to come back to a topic
discussed earlier in a later stage of the
interview

69
VA flexible method of interviewing is
useful if a researcher has as yet little
understanding of the problem or
situation he is investigating, or if the topic
is sensitive It is frequently applied in
exploratory studies The instrument used
may be called an 
 or
interview schedule

7
V Less flexible methods of interviewing are useful
when the researcher is relatively knowledgeable
about expected answers or when the number of
respondents being interviewed is relatively large
Then = 
 may be used with a fixed list of
questions in a standard sequence, which have mainly
fixed or precategorised answers
V 
# 
*
V After a number of observations on the £hygienic)
behaviour of women drawing water at a well and
some key informant interviews on the use and
maintenance of the wells, one may conduct a larger
survey on water use and satisfaction with the quantity
and quality of the water

7@
V A WRITTïN UïSTIONNAIRï £also referred to as
selfadministered questionnaire) is a data collection
tool in which written questions are presented that are
to be answered by the respondents in written form
V A written questionnaire can be administered in
different ways, such as by:
V Sending questionnaires by mail with clear
instructions on how to answer the questions and
asking for mailed responses;
V Gathering all or part of the respondents in one place
at one time, giving oral or written instructions, and
letting the respondents fill out the questionnaires; or
V
anddelivering questionnaires to respondents and
collecting them later

72
VA focus group discussion allows a group
of Ä  @2 informants to freely discuss a
certain subject with the guidance of a
facilitator or reporter

73
V When a researcher uses projective techniques, £s)he
asks an informant to react to some kind of visual or
verbal stimulus
V 
# 
* An informant may be provided with a
rough outline of the body and be asked to draw her
or his perception of the conception or onset of an
illness
V Another example of a projective technique is the
presentation of a hypothetical question or an
incomplete sentence or case/study to an informant
£¶story with a gap·) A researcher may ask the
informant to complete in writing sentences such as:
V ³ If I were to discover that my neighbour had TB, I
would ;

74
V Or £s)he may ask the informant: Suppose
your child suffered from diarrhoea, what
would you do?
V Such techniques can easily be combined
with semistructured interviews or
written questionnaires They are also
very useful in GDs to get people·s
opinion on sensitive issues

75
V j  is a valuable technique for visually displaying
relationships and resources
V In a water supply project, 
# 
, mapping is invaluable It
can be used to present the placement of wells, distance of the
homes from the wells, other water systems, etc It gives
researchers a good overview of the physical situation and may
help to highlight relationships hitherto unrecognised
V apping a community is also very useful and often indispensable
as a prestage to sampling
V 6
 is a technique that allows researchers through their
respondents to categorise certain variables that they would not be
able to rank themselves
V 
# 
, they may ask their informant£s) to bring certain
types of herbal medicine and ask them to arrange these into piles
according to their usefulness The informants would then be asked
to explain the logic of their ranking

76
V apping and scaling may be used as
participatory techniques in rapid
appraisals or situation analyses In a
separate volume on participatory action
research, more such techniques will be
presented £Also see the literature list at
end of this module )
V Rapid appraisal techniques and
participatory research are approaches
often used in health systems research
77
7Ä
       

   

  =

79
Ä
V When discussing different data collection techniques and
their advantages and disadvantages, it becomes clear that
they can complement each other A skilful use of a
combination of different techniques can reduce the chance
of bias £see below) and will give a more comprehensive
understanding of the topic under study
V Researchers often use a combination of flexible and less
flexible research techniques
V lexible techniques, such as
V loosely structured interviews using openended questions,
V focus group discussions, and
V participant observation
V are also called !¢-(( research techniques They
produce qualitative data that is often recorded in narrative
form

Ä@
V UALITATIVï RïSïARC
TïC
NIUïS involve the
identification and exploration of a number of often mutually
related variables that give INSIG
T in human behaviour
£motivations, opinions, attitudes), in the nature and causes of
certain problems and in the consequences of the problems
for those affected ¶Why·, ¶What· and ¶
ow· are important
questions
V Structured questionnaires that enable the researcher to
quantify pre or postcategorised answers to questions are
an example of !¢((( research techniques The
answers to questions can be counted and expressed
numerically
V UANTITATIVï RïSïARC
TïC
NIUïS are used to
UANTIY the size, distribution, and association of certain
variables in a study population ¶
ow many?· ¶
ow often?·
and ¶
ow significant?· are important questions

Ä2
V It has been observed in country X that children between @
and 2@/2 years, who have already started to eat
independently, have unsatisfactory food intake once they fall
ill A study could be designed to address this problem,
containing the following stages:
V ocus group discussions £GDs) with 2 to 5 groups of
mothers or indepth interviews with @  2 mothers, to find
out whether they change the feeding practices for children
in this age group when they suffer from £various) illnesses
and how mothers deal with children who have no appetite
when they are sick £exploratory study);
V A crosssectional survey, testing the relevant findings of the
exploratory study on a larger scale; and
V GDs with women in the study area to discuss findings and
possible questions arising from the survey and to develop
possible solutions for problems detected

Ä3
V In this example, the first, qualitative part of the study would be
used to focus the survey on the most relevant issues £mothers·
feeding behaviors and reasons for these behaviours) and to help
phrase the questions in an optimal way in order to obtain the
information that is needed
V The second, quantitative part of the study would be used to find
out what proportion of the mothers follow various practices and
the reasons for their behaviors and whether certain categories of
children £e g , the younger ones or children from specific socio
economic categories) are more at risk than others
V The third, qualitative part of the study would provide feedback on
the major findings of the survey Do the conclusions make sense to
women in the study area?
ave certain aspects been overlooked
when interpreting the data? What remedial action is feasible to
improve practices related to feeding sick children?
V It is also common to collect qualitative and quantitative data in a
single questionnaire Researchers collecting both types of data
have to take care that they:
V do not include too many openended questions in largescale
surveys, making data analysis more complicated; and
V do not use inappropriate statistical tests on quantitative data
generated by smallscale studies

Ä4
V °"

" 
  


 *
V )' 
  *
V uestionnaires with: ³ fixed or closed questions
on topics about which little is known £often
asking the ¶wrong things·);
V ³ openended questions without guidelines on
how to ask £or to answer) them;
V ³ vaguely phrased questions;
V ³ ¶leading questions· that cause the respondent
to believe one answer would be preferred over
another; or
V ³ questions placed in an illogical order

Ä5
V Weighing scales or other measuring equipment that are not standardized
£see section @)
V These sources of bias can be prevented by



  


 
  and by 
    

 
'
V '"

" *
V Observer bias can easily occur when conducting observations or utilizing
loosely structured group or individual interviews There is a risk that the
data collector will only see or hear things in which £s)he is interested or
will miss information that is critical to the research
V "
 
 
 and 

  



 

 should be prepared, and training and practice
should be provided to data collectors in using both these tools oreover
it is highly recommended that data collectors 
 
 when using
flexible research techniques and discuss and interpret the data
immediately after collecting it Another possibility  commonly used by
anthropologists  is using a tape recorder and transcribing the tape word
by word

Ä6
V  

 *
V This is a possible factor in all interview situations The
informant may mistrust the intention of the interview and
dodge certain questions or give misleading answers'.

# 
* in a survey on alcoholism you ask school children:
¶Does your father sometimes get drunk?· any will probably
deny that he does, even if it is true Such bias can be
reduced by adequately introducing the purpose of the study
to informants, by phrasing questions on sensitive issues in a
positive way, by taking sufficient time for the interview, and
by assuring informants that the data collected will be
confidential
V It is also important to be careful in the selection of
interviewers In a study soliciting the reasons for the low
utilization of local health services, for example, one should
not ask health workers from the health centers concerned to
interview the population Their use as interviewers would
certainly influence the results of the study

Ä7
V 
 " *
V Sometimes the information itself has weaknesses edical
records may have many blanks or be unreadable This tells
something about the quality of the data and has to be
recorded or example, in a TB defaulter study the
percentage of defaulters with an incomplete or missing
address should be calculated
V Another common information bias is due to gaps in people·s
memory; this is called ÕÕ

or |  A mother may
not remember all details of her child·s last diarrhea episode
and of the treatment she gave two or three months
afterwards or such common diseases it is advisable to limit
the period of recall, asking, for example, ¶
as your child had
diarrhea over the past two weeks?·

ÄÄ
Ä9