Information processing apparatus, information processing method, and recording medium

An information processing method comprising the steps in which:

• a data collector collects a plurality of pieces of data;
• a discontinuation determiner compares, for each data or entire processing of collecting the plurality of pieces of data, an invested cost that is already invested for data collection with an allowable investment cost that is an upper limit of a cost allowed to be invested for the data collection and determines to discontinue the data collection according to a result of the comparison;
• and
• a content determiner uses data collected by the data collector up to a point the discontinuation is determined and determines information related to a content to be distributed when the discontinuation determiner determines to discontinue the data collection.

A computer-readable recording medium recording a program which causes a computer to function as:

• a data collector which collects a plurality of pieces of data;
• a discontinuation determiner which, for each data or entire processing of collecting the plurality of pieces of data, compares an invested cost that is already invested for data collection with an allowable investment cost that is an upper limit of a cost allowed to be invested for the data collection and determines to discontinue the data collection according to a result of the comparison;
• and
• a content determiner which uses data collected by the data collector up to a point the discontinuation is determined and determines information related to a content to be distributed when the discontinuation determiner determines to discontinue the data collection.