Authors: Arash Saghafi, Jeffrey Parsons, Yair Wand
Tags: 2015
The evolution of Information Systems (IS) applications in recent years has exposed d eficiencies of traditional data management practices in accommodating rapid changes in data requirements and evolving information needs. This has motivated researchers and practitioners to embark on a quest for more flexible and effective data management methods. We propose that organizing data based on instances, rather than classes, can provide a more flexible and usable structure for understanding and retrieving data. This approach does not impose any pre-defined structure over the data at the outset, and it does not require central control and planning. This paper introduces a graphical formalization of the instance-based representation and explains its advantages. To demonstrate the potential advantages of the proposed approach, we conducted a laboratory experiment to evaluate the effectiveness instance approach compared to the traditional class-based (relational) approach. Users who were already trained in the traditional approach achieved higher accuracy in identifying the correct procedure for querying data when they use instance-based representations than when they used class-based representations. In addition, we conducted a protocol analysis study that demonstrates the effectiveness of the cognitive process of users in their interaction with instance -based representations. Our results indicate that the instance-based paradigm is a more flexible and effective data management approach compared to the incumbent data management practices. Given the growing need to use information for purposes not anticipated when it was collected, further research is needed to fully determine the potential of the instance -based approach to satisfy the emerging needs of information consumers.
Cite as:
Saghafi A., Wand Y. and Parsons J. (2015). “The Role of Instances in Understanding and Querying Data,” in AIS SIGSAND, Richmond, VA, United States, May 13-15, 2015.
