Psycho-cognitive relationship between data and knowledge discovery: a conceptual critique

Purpose The extraction of relevant knowledge from data is called knowledge discovery (KD). The KD process requires a large amount of data and it must be reliable before mining. Complexity is not only in deriving knowledge from data but also in improving system performance with a psycho-cognitive approach. KD demands a high level of human cognition and mental activity to generate and retrieve knowledge. Therefore, this study aims to explain how psychological knowledge is involved in KD. Design/methodology/approach By understanding the cognitive processes that lead to knowledge production, KD can be improved through interventions that target psychological processes, such as attention, learning and memory. In addition, psycho-cognitive approaches can help us to better grasp the process of KD and the factors that influence its effectiveness. The study attempted to correlate interdependence by interpreting cognitive approaches to KD from a psychological perspective. The authors of this paper draw on both primary and secondary literary warrants to empirically prove psychological bending in KD. Findings Understanding the psychological aspects of data and KD can identify the development of tools, process and environments that support individual and teams in making sense of data and extracting valuable knowledge. The study also finds that interdisciplinary collaboration, bringing together expertise in psychology, data science and domain specific knowledge fosters effective KD processes. Originality/value The KD system cannot function well and will not be able to achieve its full potential without psycho-cognitive foundation. It was found that KD in the KD system is influenced by human cognition. The authors made a contribution to KD by fusing psycho-cognitive approaches with data-driven technology and machine learning.