What to Teach Business Students in MIS Courses about Data and Information

MIS textbooks on the market are overly technology laden, with oversimplified coverage of the fundamentals in general and in particular with regard to the role of data and information in business. This thought-provoking paper is born out of frustration with the disparity between what we already know on the subject and what actually is being offered to our students and clients. The first part of this paper examines of the most popular MIS textbooks and the empirical research on information quality, Besides four other referenced sources, two J. O’Brien’s textbooks: one with six editions (O’Brien, 2004) and another with 11 editions (O’Brien, 2003) are used as the main frames of reference. The book “Quality Information and Knowledge” by Huang, Lee, and Wang (1999) serves as a recognized research framework. It is a product of the Information Quality Programs & Initiatives at MIT – the so-called MITIQ Program. The second part of the paper contains suggestions what to teach business students on data and information.