Information sources

TYPES OF INFORMATION SOURCES

Affective reactions – your own responses towards information tasks.

Citation – written reference to a specific information source

Cognitive reactions – your thought in response to an information task

Hierarchy – a system which ranks some things above other things

Information task – a situation, job or piece of work which involves using information to solve a problem or make a decision.

List of sources cited – an alphabetically-arranged list of citations in an information task

Working plan – your plan of how you will work through an information task

STEP 1- interpret the information task

STEP2- survey the information task

Choose the best working plan you think will work best for you

Authoritative sources of information

Provide in-depth coverage of a subject

Information in books is not as current as information in journals

Contain citations and a bibliography which we can use to identify other references

Published regularly and cover topical issues.

Can cover latest research and current literature reviews.

Useful for recent information or information on specific topics.

Journals are also known as “serials” or “periodicals”.

Published regularly.

Contain articles that are topical and current written for the general public.

Might be useful for discussion of current trends and issues.

Published regularly and contain articles on international, national and news events.

Also contains editorial and opinion pieces.

Useful for information about current events and developments.

Some data is unverifiable.

Some sources may have outdated information.

Some sites may be unreliable

Author’s credentials- institutional affiliation.

Is the author associated with a reputable institution?

Date of publication- is the source current or out-of-date for your topic?

Intended audience.

Objective reasoning.