Module 4: Sources of Information
How do we evaluate information sources?
Everyone is faced with the need to gather information from a variety of sources for different needs. Books, newspaper articles,
magazine articles, specialized databases, television shows, radio programs, websites are sources of information. As you examine each
source, it is important to evaluate them to determine the quality of the information provided within it.
Numerous criteria are available for evaluation but for this instance, we will focus on accessibility and effectiveness.
What is accessibility?
Accessibility is the ability to access and benefit from some system or entity. It focuses on enabling access for all people whether they
have a disability or not thus brings benefits to everyone. It also refers to the quality of being easy to find, obtain and use.
a. Text accessibility - arrangement of words for them to be easily accessed.
b. Image accessibility - provides additional information about the text or concept.
c. Audio accessibility - provides additional information through listening skills.
d. Video accessibility - provides additional information through listening and viewing skills.
What is effectiveness?
Effectiveness is the degree to which something is successful in producing the desired result. It is the capability of producing the
desired result or the ability to produce the desired output. When something is deemed effective, it means it has an intended or
expected outcome or produces a deep, vivid impression.
Aside from accessibility and effectiveness, it is essential to review the source of information for the readers to:
1. Satisfy the expectations of the academic community you are writing for.
2. Show evidence of wide, informed and relevant reading.
3. Show that your writing does not rely mainly on personal opinion.
4. Show the process by which you have arrived at your own conclusions about the topic, and to enable the reader to understand and
evaluate the ideas and information you are presenting.
5. Show your ability to integrate material from a range of sources.
6. Show evidence of an analytical and critical approach to your source material;
7. Enable readers to follow up references or perspectives of particular interest to them; and
8. Avoid plagiarism
SOURCES OF INFORMATION
There are various sources of information that you may use in finding significant details and data that can be used in your daily life.
Sources of information may be classified as to primary, secondary, and tertiary sources. The context of information presented in a
source is helpful in classifying information.
Primary Sources Sources of information are classified as primary if they are authentic and have not been subjected to evaluation or
assessment. These report discoveries, sharing of information and are first-hand. These are information written at a certain time or
period of research. Definition of primary sources vary depending on the contexts and/or disciplines. Examples: speeches video
recordings photographs government records communication newspaper/magazine portraying information from eyewitnesses
Secondary Sources Secondary sources provide information, discussion, and/or interpretation of the evidence. These are usually
evaluations of primary sources. These are also information written by authors who do not personally witness the event or action.
Definition of secondary sources vary depending on the contexts and/or disciplines. Examples: commentaries, critiques, evaluations,
history, journals/magazines (not portraying information from eyewitnesses)
Tertiary Sources Tertiary sources serve as collection of primary and secondary sources. Examples: bibliographies directories,
dictionary, almanac, abstracts, indexes, encyclopedias, databases
In using the information gathered whether they are primary, secondary, or tertiary sources, take note of these six (6) characteristics
that information should have.
1. Accuracy. Information should be reliable, useful, free from flaws, and of high quality.
2. Completeness. Information should provide all needed details. It should be able to answer the wh– questions (what, who, when,
where, why, and how).
3. Timeliness. Information should be up-to-date.
4. Consistency. Information should be consistent for it to be considered accurate and useful.
5. Relevant. Information should suit the demand, needs and interests of the readers.
6. Uniqueness. Information should be distinct.
Types of Information Sources and their Uses
.
Information Sources Definitions/Descriptions Examples
• documents written by experts or scholars discussing results of
scholarly works like research
• research project
Scholarly Articles • peer-reviewed
• studies
• technical
• has specific methods
A collection of short, factual entries that is often written by different
Encyclopedia contributors who are knowledgeable about the topic. An • Definitions
encyclopedia is useful when looking for background information on a
• concepts
topic and when trying to find key ideas, important dates, or concepts.
• source providing information in details segregated into chapters
or parts
• synthesized version of information
• textbooks
Books • A book is a medium for recording information in the form of
• novels
writing or images, typically composed of many pages bound
together and protected by a cover. It is a source of a lot of
information about a topic, context or issues.
A library catalog is an organized and searchable collection of records • Book titles
of every item in a library and can be found on the library’s home • author
Library Catalog page. The catalog will point you to the location of a particular source, • publication date
or group of sources, that the library owns on your topic.
• court proceedings
• laws
reports, censuses, policies, data, and statistics issued and
Government Documents • orders
published by the government and its attached agencies
• reports
• statistics
• source containing timely, brief and non-technical explanations of
events or commentaries for the general public
• contains opinions and news
• A magazine is a collection of articles and images about diverse
topics of popular interest and current events; a magazine is
usually written by journalists or scholars and is geared toward the • school paper
News/Magazine Articles average adult. It is relied upon when looking for information or • major newspaper
opinions about popular culture and to find up-to-date information • magazines
about current events.
• A newspaper is a collection of articles about current events
usually published daily. It is used to find current information about
international, national and local events.
• sources providing answers to questions such as statistics, maps, • encyclopedias
background information (re)directing to additional sources • atlas
Reference Materials • factual • almanac
• detailed • dictionary
The Web allows you to access most types of information on the
Internet through a browser. One of the main features of the Web is
Internet the ability to quickly link to other related information. The Web
contains information beyond plain text, including sounds, images,
and video.