A Review of the Data-Information-Knowledge Chain from the Pragmatism of Peirce

Abstract

The Data-Information-Knowledge (DIC) Chain, known as "Information Hierarchy" or "Knowledge Pyramid", is one of the most important models in Information Management and Knowledge Management. In general, the structure of the DIC Chain has been defined as an architecture in which each element stands on the next lower element; however there does not exit a consensus neither about the definition of its elements nor about the processes that transform an item from one level to the next level one. In this paper we review the DIC Chain through the most relevant definitions about its elements and its articulation in the literature, in order to synthesize the most common meanings. In addition, the elements of the DIC Chain are analyzed from the semiotics of Peirce; this approach allows us to clarify the meaning and identify differences, relationships and the roles that they play in the chain from the point of view of pragmatism. Finally we propose a definition of the DIC Chain supported by the Peirce’s triadic categories of signs and unlimited semiosis, along with the levels of the Stamper’s systems of signs and Zeleny's metaphors.