Meanings of information: The assumptions and research consequences of three foundational LIS theories

This article addresses the question “what is information?” by comparing the meaning of the term “information” and epistemological assumptions of three theories in library and information science: the “Shannon‐Weaver model,” Brookes’ interpretation of Popper's World 3, and the Data‐Information‐Knowledge‐Wisdom model. It shows that the term “information” in these theories refers to empirical entities or events and is conceptualized as having causal powers upon human minds. It is argued that the epistemological assumptions have led to the negligence of the cultural and social aspects of the constitution of information (i.e., how something is considered to be and not to be information) and the unquestioned nature of science in research methodologies.