Information Synthesis:

The fragmentation of knowledge into different records, fields,
and storage media creates many subtasks in the decision process.
These subtasks include locating resources, developing a search
(sort) strategy, collecting and saving information, annotating
and organizing information, evaluating collected information for
relevance and content, and the essential iterations of these
activities to facilitate data synthesis, evaluation of
alternatives, and the ultimate reporting of results.  These final
activities constitute the key components of the decision process.
The objective of a computer based information management system
is to relieve the system user of the cumbersome tasks associated
with the searching and gathering activities.  Rather, the
organization of information resources into an accessible,
integrated environment should allow the researcher (system user)
to focus on the key aspects of the decision process, the
evaluation, synthesis, and reporting of information. 

<efile14>   Data Integration
<efile16>   User Perspectives