Information retrieval is valuable to learn because it helps us make sense of information and data. Imagine the difficulty of looking for information on the internet or in a library database without the use of a centralized search mechanism. It would just be a blur of reports, studies, plain text, images, and more. Information retrieval systems serve to bring knowledge and understanding to this information and data. Learning about information retrieval may help you understand the ways that unstructured data is collected, reviewed, and organized, and how data science and knowledge management combine to create a basis for understanding information retrieval.‎
