Evidence typologies and migration
The process of turning data into information and then again into knowledge is complicated and time-consuming. This results in many migration issues having a wealth of data, some of which is turned into information, but little is actually translated into valuable knowledge. The Evidence Pyramid gives a visual representation of this issue and the decreasing amount of evidence at these different levels (see Figure 3.1).
Figure 3.1 The Evidence Pyramid
Show description|Hide descriptionA pyramid diagram showing the relationship between data, information and knowledge. At the bottom of the pyramid, in the largest segment is ‘data’, in the middle is ‘information’, and at the top of the pyramid, indicating the smallest proportion, is ‘knowledge’. This represents the levels of analysis that evidence is taken through where data has less analysis and complexity than information or knowledge. This also reveals why there is more data (at the bottom of the pyramid) than there is knowledge at the top.
Figure 3.1 The Evidence Pyramid The Evidence Pyramid is a visual representation of different levels of evidence analysis that can be built upon to transform raw data into meaningful information and thus into actionable knowledge. It can also support a deeper understanding of the larger quantity of migration data compared to information and the scarcity of migration knowledge. This visualisation can be used in an Evidence Café as a discussion object that support participants to discuss the level of depth of their evidence understandings around a particular topic. As such, we call it a discussion object and Evidence Pyramids have proven very effective with a range of practice communities such as the police and healthcare professionals. The evidence typology is also the basis for another visual representation (discussion object), the evidence typology (see Unit 5). This again supports Evidence Café participants to understand that different stakeholder has different Evidence Pyramids. An Evidence Café, using the Evidence Pyramid and the evidence typology can bringing those participants together to discuss their different understandings and experiences of that evidence.