CLASSIFICATION OF SOURCES OF

INFORMATION
CLASSIFICATION OF SOURCES OF
INFORMATION

Information Sources are thee types.

1. PRIMARY SOURCES
2. SECONDARY SOURCES
3. TERTIARY SOURCES
 PRIMARY SOURCES
Primary Sources of information are the first (and often
the only) published records of original research and
development and accounts of new applications. They
provide newly generated information and therefore,
the documents which record and disseminate (or
communicate) it is called primary literature.

eg. Journals, Research Reports, Theses/Dissertations,

Conference Proceedings, Project Reports etc.
 SECONDARY SOURCES
The secondary sources do not carry new and original
information but guide the users to the primary
sources. They organised primary information sources
in convenient form. Secondary sources are the
repackaging of primary information.
These are three types.
(a) Those guide/index the primary source of information
and help users in finding what has been published on
a given subject.
eg. Indexing Journals, Abstracting Journals, CD-ROMs
 SECONDARY SOURCES
(b) Those which survey or evaluate the primary
information sources.
e.g. Reviews
(c) Those documents which themselves contain
the desire information collected and selected
from primary sources.
e.g. Books, Encyclopaedias, Manuals,
Dictionaries etc.
 TERTIARY SOURCES
Tertiary sources are those give the information
about secondary sources.
eg. Bibliography of Bibliographies, Publisher
Catalogues, Books in print, Library Catalogue.