Do you need to gather information for your courses or research? Knowing the various information types can help you discover the best information to suit your needs.
Learning objectives
After completing this short tutorial, you will be able to:
- Differentiate primary and secondary sources.
- Identify your information needs.
- Define the difference between peer-reviewed and non-peer-reviewed sources.
What are primary and secondary sources?
Primary sources of information are first-hand accounts and descriptions of original research. In the sciences, these include peer-reviewed original research articles, conference papers, lab notebooks, statistical data, computer code, patents, theses/dissertations, interviews, technical reports, diaries, letters, photographs, and videos.
Secondary sources of information are second-hand information that includes summaries, commentary, interpretation, or synthesis of primary sources. In the sciences, secondary information sources include review articles, textbooks, encyclopedia entries, trade, and popular magazine articles, and many books and websites.
Watch the following video to learn more about the differences between primary and secondary sources.
What are the common information types?
Understanding your information needs
When you work on assignments, it’s likely that you’ll need to identify specific information to address the tasks described. Your assignment may require specific information sources (e.g., peer-reviewed journal articles). Before you search for information, it’s critical to understand your information needs. For example, to write a lab report on the ecological and environmental health of the Dairy Pond (the pond behind the Marston Science Library), you will probably need to find a textbook to learn more general information about the ecology of small ponds. You may need to ask specific questions such as “How does runoff from fertilizers and pollutants influence fish survival or smell of the pond?” For this level of detail, you will probably need to search for peer-reviewed journal articles to understand how runoff affects ponds.
With a deeper understanding of your information needs, you can then start to explore resources (e.g., books, journal articles) that will help you write your report. You can always talk with science librarians to help you identify relevant resources based on your information needs.
Here are some types of information that could be useful depending on your information needs:
- Books can provide an in-depth background description of the topic.
- Journal articles can provide specific information about a topic.
- Government documents can provide current information and statistics.
- Encyclopedia entries can provide broader introductions and quick definitions.
Peer-reviewed and non-peer-reviewed information types
Identifying your information needs requires you to determine if you need a peer-reviewed source or a non-peer-reviewed source to support your work. Peer-reviewed sources undergo an evaluation by several scholars in the field who critique the work and provide feedback before it is accepted for publication. Watch the following videos to learn more about peer-reviewed and non-peer-reviewed information types.
Remember: you can cite non-peer-reviewed sources (e.g., government documents, patents, technical reports, etc.) in your academic work (e.g., publications).