Many philosophers have long believed that knowledge is power and that knowledge stems from understanding information; information, in turn, is the assigning of meaning to data.
Adapted from https://www.cambridgeinternational.org/Images/285017-data-information-and-knowledge.pdf
What kind of information do you need to answer your research question?
Image adapted from http://www.lisbdnet.com/sources-of-information/
Source Type | Explanation |
Reference Material |
|
News Sources |
|
Magazines |
|
Academic Journals |
|
Books |
|
Patents |
|
Multimedia |
|
The source types can also have characteristics that are important to understand when using them in your work.
Primary |
The results of original research or observation
|
Secondary |
Analyzes primary works by providing opinion or commentary
Encyclopedias and Dictionaries are considered tertiary sources |
Popular | Written for a general audience and can usually be found alongside advertisements and pictures |
Scholarly | Written by experts in the field usually with academic vocabulary |
Grey Literature |
Material produced outside of traditional publishing
|
If you are looking for information about... |
Choose |
---|---|
Words |
Dictionaries |
General information / Overview |
Encyclopedias |
Names and addresses of people, organizations |
Directories |
Profiles of people |
Biographical Dictionaries |
Places / maps |
Gazetteers or Atlases |
Facts and statistics |
Almanacs |
Formula, tables, how-to-do-it |
Handbooks and Manuals |
A person’s work |
Reviews or Criticisms |
Dates, outlines, historical timelines |
Chronologies or Yearbooks |
Periodical articles |
Indexes or Abstracts |
Books |
Bibliographies or Guides |
“Data presented in readily comprehensible form to which meaning has been attributed within the context of its use.” (ODLIS)