The past, the present, and the future of information and data sciences: A pragmatic view

Abstract

While data science and information science emerged as two separate disciplines with different roots, in the recent past, they have been getting integrated and intertwined in interesting and impactful ways. The traditional distinction between data and information does not easily explain the differences and overlaps between the two sciences named after them. If one claims, for instance, that information is ‘meaningful data’ then it is important to note that a main objective of data science is indeed to derive meaningful information out of data. Information science is not necessarily a superset or a higher level of data science. Both of these disciplines have earned their place in sciences through different pasts, paths, and possibilities. Keeping that in mind, they are discussed here while tracing their origins and understanding their positionalities in the current context. More than the past and the present, what becomes then important is where they are heading next. Several suggestions are provided to keep data science a meaningful offering within information science – as a uniqueness for the former with the strengths of the latter.