Scribd
Upload
557 views11 pages

Lib 101

This document discusses different types of information resources and how to evaluate them. It identifies primary, secondary, and tertiary resources, as well as popular, scholarly, and internet resources. Primary resources are created by participants and enable researchers to understand events firsthand. Secondary resources analyze and interpret primary sources, while tertiary resources synthesize information from other sources. The document provides tips for evaluating resources based on the author's authority, the coverage, accuracy, currency, and objectivity of the information. It also notes some more reliable sources of information online like government and nonprofit websites.

Uploaded by

calbentc3170
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
557 views11 pages

Lib 101

This document discusses different types of information resources and how to evaluate them. It identifies primary, secondary, and tertiary resources, as well as popular, scholarly, and internet resources. Primary resources are created by participants and enable researchers to understand events firsthand. Secondary resources analyze and interpret primary sources, while tertiary resources synthesize information from other sources. The document provides tips for evaluating resources based on the author's authority, the coverage, accuracy, currency, and objectivity of the information. It also notes some more reliable sources of information online like government and nonprofit websites.

Uploaded by

calbentc3170
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 11

Library Services & Research

Modified from a
Presentation developed by
Jeremy Berberich
Types of Information
 Primary Resources - created by a
participant in the events being studied.

 Primary sources enable the researcher


to get as close as possible to what
actually happened during an event or
time period.
 experimental research results
Types of Information
 Secondary Resources –Analyze,
review, restate information from
primary resources
 books and articles that interpret or review
research works
Types of Information
 Tertiary Resources – Provide
overviews of topics by synthesizing
information gathered from other
resources
 Ex/ Encyclopedias, textbooks, almanacs
Types of Information
 Popular Resources
 information about culture and society.
 general information and commentary about
political, economic and cultural events.
 current statistical information of general
interest.
 popular opinions and beliefs

Ex/ Time, Newsweek, Sports Illustrated,


Business Magazines
Types of Information

 Scholarly Resources (Peer Reviewed)


 Information that has been vetted by
scholarly experts in the field.
 Provide scholarly analysis, description or
evaluation of events and ideas.
 Science, Nature, Journal of the American
Medical Association
 Topic specific journals such as : Journal of
Climate, Evolution, Marine Ecology
Where to Find Information
1. Physical Materials – Books, Journals,
Magazines, DVD’s
2. Library Research Databases –
EBSCOhost, ProQuest, Gale Infotrac,
Oxford Reference, etc.
3. The “Internet”
Internet
 Free to anyone with computer access
 No review standards with regard to
content – Anyone can create a web site
 Information is not organized
 Excellent resources and bad resources
 Quantity
 As of September 2008 there are
192,338,726 distinct web sites
 Billions of web pages
Evaluating Information /
Resources
 Who wrote the page? (Authority)
 Can be a person or an organization
 Do author’s credentials allow him/her to
speak with authority on the topic
 Look for biographical information: the
author's position, institutional affiliation
 What is the resource about? (Coverage)
 Does it cover all aspects of the issue
 How in-depth is the information
Evaluating Information /
Resources
 Where did they find the information
that is included in the resource?
(Accuracy)
 Are there references and documentation?
 How current is the information?
(Currency)
 Look for Publication Date or Last Updated
Date
 What is the purpose of this
information? (Objectivity)
 What is the point of view? Is it biased or
one sided?
Not Everything on the Web is Bad….Just
Finding it is Hard
 Government Websites (National Institutes
for Health, Center for Disease Control) -
.gov
 Non Profit Organizations (American
Cancer Society, American Academy of
Family Physicians, Mayo Clinic) - .org
 Think Tanks (Pew Research Center) - .org
or .edu
 University and College Web Sites
(University of Minnesota College of
Medicine WebAnatomy) - .edu

You might also like