Categorizing Sources Chapter 3

Categorizing Sources

• Various sources of information are available to meet information needs, including:
  • Books and encyclopedias
  • Websites, web pages, and blogs
  • Magazine, journal, and newspaper articles
  • Research reports and conference papers
  • Field notes and diaries
  • Photographs, paintings, cartoons, and other artworks
  • TV and radio programs, podcasts, movies, and videos
  • Illuminated manuscripts and artifacts
  • Bones, minerals, and fossils
  • Preserved tissues and organs
  • Architectural plans and maps
  • Pamphlets and government documents
  • Music scores and recorded performances
  • Dance notation and theater set models

Characteristics of Sources

• A source can be categorized by:
  • Whether it contains quantitative or qualitative information or both
  • Whether the source is objective (factual) or persuasive (opinion) and may be biased
  • Whether the source is a scholarly, professional, or popular publication
  • Whether the material is a primary, secondary, or tertiary source
  • The format of the source

Quantitative and Qualitative Information

• Quantitative information involves measurable quantities, often represented by numbers
• Examples of quantitative information include length, mass, temperature, and time

Fact vs. Opinion vs. Objective vs. Subjective

• Fact: useful to inform or make an argument, based on verifiable evidence
  • Examples: The United States was established in 1776, the pH levels in acids are lower than pH levels in alkalines
• Opinion: useful to persuade, but careful readers and listeners will notice and demand evidence to back them up
  • Examples: That was a good movie, strawberries taste better than blueberries, George Clooney is the sexiest actor alive
• Objective: reflects a research finding or multiple perspectives that are not biased
  • Examples: Several studies show that an active lifestyle reduces the risk of heart disease and diabetes, studies from the Brown University Medical School show that twenty-somethings eat 25% more fast-food meals at this age than they did as teenagers
• Subjective: presents one person or organization's perspective or interpretation, can be meant to distort or reflect educated and informed thinking
  • Examples: The simple truth is this: As human beings, we were meant to move, in their thirties, women should stock up on calcium to ensure strong, dense bones and to ward off osteoporosis later in life

Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary Sources

• Primary sources: firsthand information in its original form
• Secondary sources: secondhand information, a restatement, analysis, or interpretation of original information
• Tertiary sources: third-hand information, a summary, or repackaging of original information, often based on secondary information that has been published