3.1 Evidence typologies

There is a distinct difference between ‘data’ and ‘information’ in that information is discovered after a meaning making process. This is where data is developed into meaningful information by finding its relevance or purpose. In information science, ‘knowledge’ is defined as valuable information for the human mind that rigorously answers the question of ‘why’ or ‘how’. This makes knowledge a step further than information, and supports the application of information in real life

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).

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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.

3.2 Evidence Cafés and discussion objects