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Information
Types
The type of information you need depends on the course in which
you are enrolled, your research topic, and the nature of your
assignment. Once you have determined the types of information
you need, you will be better able to select the information
sources that are most likely to contain that information. If
you have any doubt about the type of information you need, be
sure to talk to your instructor and/or a reference librarian.
Here
are some examples of questions you might want to ask yourself
regarding information types:
- Is the information required by your assignment scholarly,
popular, or both?
- In which general discipline(s) (e.g. Sociology, Psychology,
Biology, History, etc.) is your research topic situated?
- Do you require current information, historical information,
or both?
- Does your topic have a geographical focus, e.g. are you
interested only in your subject as it relates to this country
or state?
- Do you need an overview of your subject, very specific
details about a certain aspect of your subject, both an
overview and specific details, or something in between the
two?
- Do you need primary sources - such as statistics, research
reports, letters, diaries, minutes of meetings, or artifacts
-, secondary sources - usually books and periodical articles
- or both?
Amount
of Information Required
Before you start your research, you should be aware of the
amount of information you require. Are you expected to have
read virtually everything that has been written on your subject
or do you simply need a few authoritative sources to support
your arguments? If you are not sure what is expected of you,
ask your instructor.
- Remember that time is an important factor when you are doing
research, especially when you are writing a paper that requires
you to read a large number of sources.
- It may happen that your library does not have all the materials
you need for your assignment, in which case you may be able
to obtain these materials from another library, via Interlibrary
Loan or Intercampus Loan. If you require materials
from outside your library you should allow approximately two
weeks for delivery. The best way to avoid disappointment is
to start your research early!
Likely
Sources of Information
Information comes in many formats. For example, books, magazines,
encyclopedias, videos, CD-ROM discs, and the Internet are all
potential sources of information. However, every type of source
is not necessarily appropriate for the information you require.
Each source is best suited to provide particular types of information.
- Textbooks- Scholarly, historical, general overviews
- Encyclopedias-Scholarly, historical, general overview.
- Books-Scholarly, popular, historical, general, specific.
- Journals-Scholarly, current, historical,specific.
- Magazines-Popular, current, general overview.
- Newspapers-Popular, current, general, specific.
- Government Document-all the above.
- Internet-all the above, be careful!
Order
of Information Gathering
The order in which you approach the above information sources
will depend on your research topic, the nature of your assignment,
the depth and amount of information required, and your prior
knowledge of the subject. If your knowledge of the subject is
limited, it is often a good idea to proceed from the general
to the specific, as in the following example:
- Consult text books, general and specialized encyclopedias,
dictionaries, handbooks, and other reference books to get
an overview and background information on your topic.
- Consult the library catalog, references in your text
book, and subject bibliographies to locate book titles on
your topic.
- Use index and abstract databases to locate magazine,
journal, and newspaper articles on your topic.
Primary
Sources
For some assignments, your instructor may require that you
consult one or more primary sources in the course of your
research.
A primary source is information (in its broadest sense) in
its original form, uninterpreted by other writers. The exact
form
of a primary source varies widely from one discipline to another.
The following list contains some common examples:
- an account by an eyewitness of or a participant in an
event, such as letters, diaries, minutes of meetings, log
books, or newspaper articles written at the time of the
event.
- data obtained through original research, such as reports
of scientific experiments, government records, or market
research surveys.
- creative works, such as fiction, poetry, music, or art.
- artifacts, such as historical photographs, pottery, furniture,
or buildings.
Any work that interprets
a primary source is referred to as a secondary source. Common
examples of secondary sources include literary critiques,
literature reviews, and most books and journal articles. If
a source does not fit the definition of a primary source,
above, it is most likely a secondary source. For more
information use the library's subject guide on primary
sources.
Reprinted & adapted with permission from Ross Tyner's
Electronic Information Literacy.
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