Qualitative information attributes in MIS: which of the following is <em>not</em> among the standard qualitative characteristics used to judge information quality?

Introduction / Context:
High-quality information supports better decisions. Classic qualitative characteristics used in accounting, MIS, and information science include relevance, accuracy (or reliability), completeness, comparability, and timeliness. Identifying which terms are canonical helps teams set meaningful information quality targets and measurements for their reports and datasets.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• We are evaluating commonly cited qualitative attributes of information.
• Options include well-known characteristics and one outlier.
• The goal is to select the item that is not standard in this context.

Concept / Approach:
Relevance, accuracy, and timeliness are standard qualitative characteristics across textbooks and frameworks. Retrievability is desirable from a systems/usability standpoint, but it is not typically listed as a qualitative characteristic of information content; rather, it reflects system accessibility or searchability. Thus, among the choices, “retrievability” is the one that does not belong to the canonical set of information quality attributes.

Step-by-Step Solution:

Verification / Alternative check:
Information quality literature consistently emphasizes relevance, accuracy, and timeliness; retrieval efficiency is addressed under system performance and UX, not content quality.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
They are recognized qualitative characteristics of good information used by decision makers.

Common Pitfalls:
Conflating content quality with system usability; focusing on easy retrieval while ignoring accuracy and timeliness.

Final Answer:
retrievability