KNOW YOUR INFORMATION SOURCES

-Most published daily or weekly -Published weekly or monthly

-Written for general public -Written for general audience
-Summary of event (Who, What, -Written by journalists, staff or
Why, When and How) freelance writers
Why Use? -Can provide analysis
-Statistical information -Many illustrations, photos,
NEWSPAPERS -Local news coverage graphs
-Immediate news coverage Popular
Why Use?
-Photographs -Statistical information Magazines
-Editorials -General overview of a current
E.g. New York Times, Trinidad event; more detailed analysis
Guardian. than a newspaper
-Public Opinion
-Photographs
E.g. Time, Working Mother,
-Published monthly, quarterly or
Parents, Newsweek.
yearly
-Written by scholars and researchers
to communicate research findings
-Primary audience is scholars,
researchers & students
-Created for both general and
-Have a narrow subject focus
specialized audiences
-Peer-reviewed
-Usually written by scholars or
-Include original research, case
SCHOLARLY studies and reviews
experts in a field
JOURNALS Why Use?
-Provide in-depth articles
-For background information on a
Why use?
topic
Reference
-More in-depth examination of a Books
-Statistics
subject
-Facts
- Additional resources from footnotes
-Find out about additional sources
and bibliography
E.g. Types of Reference books:
-Statistics
Almanacs, Dictionaries,
-Graphs
E.g. Journal of Marriage & the Encyclopaedias, Statistics,
Bibliographies, Atlases.
Family, Child Development.

-Written by and for a variety of

audiences, from general public
to scholars
-Detailed analysis of a subject.
-Lengthy, over 100 pages
- May provide more analysis but
not as current
Why Use?
BOOKS -Detailed analysis of a subject
-Multiple viewpoints often
portrayed – especially in a
compilation of articles
-Additional resources found in
footnotes and bibliography
E.g. Child care options: A
st
workplace initiative for the 21
Century.
-Audience is varied, general,
researchers, students, scholars.
-Can be written by anyone
-Content varied – Online books,
personal websites, public service
etc.
-Needs to be critically evaluated
Why Use?
-Immediate coverage of an event
-Access to information not World Wide
available in print Web
-Additional coverage of a
topic/subject area
E.g. National Network for Child
Care(www.nncc.org.)

-Knowledge of subject area

-Can provide referrals
Why Use?
PEOPLE -Excellent source of primary information
-Can provide leads to other contacts and best information on a topic
-Possible contacts: Teachers, Professionals, Scientists, Community
Leaders and Organizations.