In the digital age there is no shortage of data and the more reports I see, the more I realise, slowly but surely, information is being replaced with data.
I recently read an investigation report of about 50 pages, that had 1,700 pages of data appended to it. Did this help my understanding? Not really, most humans simply can’t process that much data and turn it into useful information; I know the consultants certainly didn’t.
data - facts, figures and statistics collected together for reference, analysis, reasoning or calculation,
information - data with understanding; or knowledge obtained from investigation, study, or instruction.
The game of contaminated land investigation, where most things we want to know about are invisibly buried under the ground, is all about reducing uncertainty. Information reduces uncertainty, data on its own doesn’t.
Wikipedia puts it nicely “gaining information can be thought of as the resolution of uncertainty; it is that which answers the question of "What an entity is" and thus defines both its essence and nature of its characteristics”.
So, what’s going on?
Consultants are more and more pushed for time, being driven by their large corporate frameworks to squeeze every drop of profit from their resources. The plethora of data freely available from various online databases means it's quick and easy to fill pages without much thought, and since we only PDF now not print, why not include it?
Changes in regulation are also moving us toward a checkbox way of investigating; the number of pages I’ve read about the weather in southeast Queensland, which is more often than not, irrelevant, but it’s a checkbox to be ticked.
Take the time to think!
Next time you’re pasting in the 20 dot points of data you’ve gathered, stop for a minute and think about what it actually means. Does it help answer the question you’re asking? After all isn't that the interesting bit?
Don’t squeeze your resources, squeeze the data, it's surprising what you can learn from the basics.
The importance of developing data quality objectives – what is the question and how should I go about answering it - and the development and refining of the conceptual site model – what is it we’re dealing with and how do I think it works - can’t be understated. These are not just checkboxes to be ticked, like they are so often treated, but those are topics for a later post.
Christian Atkinson is a approved contaminated land auditor in Queensland with more than 25 years of experience. Any discussion is general in nature and does not consider your your specific circumstances. It should not be taken as legal or financial advice. If you are considering acting on any matters discussed, you should seek advice from qualified and experience professionals.
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