Locate different types of sources: Select appropriate information

It is important to appreciate when and how information becomes available, this can help you to understand more about the information you find. 

When an event occurs, such as the London Bombings in 2005, information begins to be created almost immediately and will continue to be created for years into the future.  Look at our Libguide on the Information Cycle to find out more about the way in which information has been produced over time about the London Bombings.

If a major event occurs today, almost immediately there will be eyewitness accounts of the event, people who are there will take photographs, post their experiences on Facebook or Twitter, write a blog or diary or send a text to a friend.  These are examples of primary sources of information.  Primary sources are explained more fully in the video opposite which looks at primary information and the killing of JFK. 

Over time more information will become available in different formats; newspapers are published the following day, magazines a week or month later, journal articles after a few months, books follow much later and finally reports may take a number of years to complete.   

The tutorial below also explains more about how different types of sources are created over time and the value of these resources.

(Slides from: Makselon, J., 2011. Locate information, The research process for extended essay. Tanglin Trust School, unpublished.)

This excellent tutorial from the University of the West of England, Bristol, clearly shows the flow of information after an historic event.  The tutorial explains how different kinds of information sources are produced at different times following an event and how the various kinds of sources can be valuable for your research.  Click on the picture above to access the tutorial.

When researching a topic it is important to know the difference between primary and secondary sources.

The links on this page will help you to distinguish between primary and secondary sources and explain the value of each type of information.

This tutorial includes lots of information on the differences between primary and secondary sources.

Source: Collaboratively creating sharable information literacy tutorials, 2011. Tutorials. [Online] CLIP: Cooperative Library Instruction Project Available at: http://clip-il.wetpaint.com/page/Tutorials [Accessed 1 February 2011].

(Source of video: you tube)

This book (you can read the relevant sections in Google Books below) contains a clear, concise section on Primary and Secondary Sources.