4.2: Sources of Information

We've discussed different sources of information, but let's review them with a slightly different perspective on their uses.

Types of Information Sources

Background Sources

Background sources help to explain a topic or concept to you. It expands your understanding of the subject and connects you with related topics that might help steer or refine your research. These sources give history, basic facts, and context. They serve as good starting places for research. The following are all possible sources of background information:

• Books
• Encyclopedias (Including Wikipedia)
• Dictionaries
• Websites

Comprehensive Sources

Comprehensive sources are similar to background sources, except they provide a very thorough explanation of a topic. These sources require time to examine but can provide you with a detailed understanding of the topic. The following are all possible comprehensive sources:

• Books
• Literature Analysis (found in academic journals)
• Websites

Definition: Literature Analysis

The thorough examination and interpretation of scholarly journal articles in order to understand the overall trends and findings of the research that exists in that area. Literature analyses usually compare studies, identify common themes and gaps in understanding, and summarize the information.

Analytical Sources

Analytical sources are those which examine data and make interpretations. These are generally found as scholarly journals as original research articles and literature analysis articles. Scholarly journal articles are often focused on very specific topic areas, but then can be useful to find a lot of very detailed and authoritative information about parts of your research question. Most often, you will not find a single scholarly article source that covers your entire research topic. Instead, you will need to review and combine information from multiple sources.

Here are some example scholarly journal article titles so you can see how specific their topics can be:

• Effect of Gun Culture and Firearm Laws on Gun Violence and Mass Shootings in the United States: A Multi-Level Quantitative Analysis
• Learning and Teaching Together: Weaving Indigenous Ways of Knowing into Education
• A Statistical Assessment of Pesticide Pollution in Surface Waters using Environmental Monitoring Data: Chlorpyrifos in Central Valley, California
• Two Perspectives on the Communication Skills of Political Leaders

Analytical sources can sometimes include professional trade journals as well. These are often not held to the same degree of academic standards that academic scholarly journals are, but for many fields they can contain valuable information. Trade journals tend to be written by those experienced in a specific field. Those authors may or may not have advanced degrees or training in research and the articles are often not subject to a peer-review process. The articles tend to focus more on practical day-to-day applications and experience.

Qualitative Research

Qualitative research is a type of research that tries to understand experiences and behaviors. It does this primarily through gathering data on research participants via surveys, interviews, focus groups, and/or observation. Qualitative research can provide context and understanding on how people think and feel. It's a very flexible form of research that helps to create a narrative about people, events, or situations. However, the qualitative research can be affected by the researchers' own perspectives. It can also be very time-consuming and difficult to generalize to a wider population.

Quantitative Research

Quantitative research is a systematic approach that relies heavily on numerical data and statistical analysis. It attempts to measure variables in order to draw logical or statistical conclusions about events. Quantitative research often relies on tests, experimentation, and some surveys. These can be easier to do and be more generalizable to wider populations; however, quantitative research can fail to consider context and may oversimplify the social and psychological elements of human experiences.

Many studies are called "mixed-methods research" and use a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods.

Data

Sometimes you will find yourself looking at raw data in order to draw your own conclusions. Oftentimes, this is how academic journal articles are written. Academic scholars dig into or collect research data, then analyze and draw conclusions based on that data. Using data in your research can be a powerful tool!

Tools for Finding Information

There are many ways to find information, but which is the best source for your information need?

• Public search engines (like Google) can find a wide assortment of information. These can be very useful for finding quick information, background information, or if you know exactly what you're looking for. They're good at finding websites, videos, and sometimes books. They are often much less efficient at finding scholarly information.
• Google Scholar is a version of Google that searches specifically for more scholarly information. It can reliably find academic journal articles on a variety of topics. However, Google Scholar will also provide you with information about sources that you do not have access to.
• Library databases are collections of information sources and resources. Each database is a searchable collection. Many databases focus on a specific topic area. Many academic libraries have a single search tool or "Discovery Service" that can allow you to search all of their databases at once. Library databases are excellent sources for finding journal articles, books, and videos.