WRITTEN

REPORT IN
MEDIA AND
INFROMATION
LITERACY

ABM 12 RICARDO
Group 5
 Media as Information
Media

According to Techopedia is the plural form of medium, which (broadly speaking) describes any
channel of communication. This can include anything from printed paper to digital data, and
encompasses art, news, educational content and numerous other forms of information. Digital
media, which makes up an increasingly vast portion of modern communications, is comprised of
intricately encoded signals that are transmitted over various forms of physical and virtual media,
such as fiber optic cable and computer networks.

Information Sources

According to Huggermugger Eran (2016) Information is processed data. An information source

is where you got your information from; this can be a book or a Website. Information
sources are the various means by which information is recorded for use by an individual or
an organization. It is the means by which a person is informed about something or
knowledge is availed to someone, a group of people or an organization. Information sources
can be observations, people, speeches, documents, pictures, organizations. Information
sources can be in print, non-print and electronic media or format. Types of Information
Sources Information can come from virtually anywhere: personal experiences, books,
articles, expert opinions, encyclopedias, the Web. The type of information needed will
change depending on its application. Individuals generate information on a daily basis as
they go about their work. In academic institutions, staff and students consult various sources
of information. The choice of the source to consult is usually determined by the type of
information sought. The three types of information sources are:

• Primary

• Secondary

• Tertiary

Primary sources are original materials on which other research studies are based. Primary
sources report a discovery or share new information; they present first-hand accounts and
information relevant to an event. They present information in its original form, not interpreted or
condensed or evaluated by other writers. They are usually evidence or accounts of the events,
practices, or conditions being researched and created by a person who directly experienced that
event. Primary sources are the first formal appearance of results in print or electronic formats.
 Examples of primary sources are: eyewitness accounts, journalistic reports, financial reports,
government documents, archeological and biological evidence, court records, ephemerals
(posters, handbills), literary manuscript and minutes of meetings etc.

The definition of a primary source may vary depending upon the discipline or context. A diary
would be a primary source because it is written directly by the individual writing in the diary.
Interviews are primary sources because the individual talks about the topic directly from what
he/she knows about it. Other examples are

• : • Video of the inauguration of the first female president in Brazil

• A scientific publication reporting the development of a new medication to manage patients
with sickle-cell anemia.

Secondary Sources

A secondary source of information is one that was created by someone who did not have first-
hand experience or did not participate in the events or conditions being researched. They are
generally accounts written after the fact with the benefit of hindsight. Secondary sources
describe, analyze, interpret, evaluate, comment on and discuss the evidence provided by primary
sources. Secondary sources are works that are one step removed from the original event or
experience that provide criticism, interpretation or evaluation of primary sources. Secondary
sources are not evidence, but rather commentary on and discussion of evidence. A secondary data
is one that has been collected by individuals or agencies for purposes other than those of a
particular research study. However, what some define as a secondary source, others define as a

Tertiary Source.

For example, if a magazine writer wrote about the speech Nelson Mandela delivered when he
was inaugurated President of South Africa in 1990; it will be a secondary source. The
information is not original, but an analysis of the speech. If a government department has
conducted a survey of, say, family food expenditures, then, a food manufacturer might use this
data in the organization’s evaluations of the total potential market for a new product. Similarly,
statistics prepared by a pharmaceutical company on the production of a particular drug will prove
useful to a host of people and organizations, including those marketing the drug. For secondary
sources, often the best are those that have been published most recently. If you use a secondary
source that was published decades ago, it is important to know what subsequent scholars have
written on the topic and what criticism they have made about the earlier work or its approach to
the topic. The definition of a secondary source may vary depending upon the discipline or
context. Most often how a source is used determines whether it is a primary or secondary source.
For the purposes of a historical research project, secondary sources are generally scholarly books
and articles. Also included in this category would be reference sources such as encyclopedias
(also considered tertiary).
Other examples of secondary sources are:

• Bibliographies (also considered tertiary);

• Biographical works
• Commentaries
• Criticisms
• Dictionaries
• Histories
• Journal articles (depending on the discipline, these can be primary)
• Magazine and newspaper articles (this distinction varies by discipline)
• Monographs, other than fiction and autobiography
• Textbooks (also considered tertiary)
• Websites (also considered primary)

Tertiary sources

Consist of information which is a distillation and collection of primary and secondary sources.
Generally, tertiary sources are not considered to be acceptable material on which to base
academic research. Tertiary sources are usually not credited to a particular author. They are
intended only to provide an overview of what the topic includes its basic terminology, and often
references for further reading. Some reference materials and textbooks are considered tertiary
sources when their chief purpose is to list, summarize or simply repackage ideas or other
information. Examples of tertiary sources include dictionaries and encyclopedias, Wikipedia and
similar user-contributed online 'encyclopedias' and reference materials, as well as various digests
(including the Reader's Digest) and schoolbooks. In a nutshell,

Tertiary sources are:

• works which list primary and secondary resources in a specific subject area
• Works which index organize and compile citations to, and show secondary (and sometimes
primary) sources can be used.
• Materials in which the information from secondary sources has been "digested" -
reformatted and condensed, to put it into a convenient, easy-to-read form.
• Sources which are once removed in time from secondary sources Table 3: General
classification of selected primary, secondary and tertiary sources of information Primary
sources
Secondary sources Tertiary sources

• Autobiographies
• Correspondence: email, letters
• Descriptions of travel
• Diaries,
• Eyewitnesses
• Oral histories
• Literary works
• Interviews
• Personal narratives
• First-hand newspaper and magazine accounts of events
• Legal cases, treaties
• Statistics, surveys, opinion polls,
• Scientific data, transcripts
• Journal articles
• Biographies, Encyclopedias, dictionaries, handbooks
• Textbooks & monographs on a topic
• Literary criticism & interpretation
• History & historical criticism
• Political analyses
• Reviews of law and legislation
• Essays on morals and ethics
• Analyses of social policy
• Study and teaching material
• Articles, such as literature reviews,
• Commentaries, research articles in all subject disciplines
• Criticism of works of literature, art and music
• Chronologies
• Classifications
• Dictionaries
• Encyclopedias
• Directories
• Guidebooks and manuals
• Population registers statistics
• Fact books
• Abstracts
• Indexes
• Bibliographies
• Manuals/Guide books

Reference
https://www.techopedia.com/definition/1098/media

https://www.slideshare.net/mharzywhayneeran/media-and-information-sources

Indigenous Media

Introduction

Indigenous media may be defined as forms of media expression conceptualized, produced, and
circulated by indigenous peoples around the globe as vehicles for communication, including
cultural preservation, cultural and artistic expression, political self-determination, and cultural
sovereignty. Indigenous media overlap with, and are on a spectrum with, other types of minority-
produced media, and quite often they share a kinship regarding many philosophical and political
motivations. Indigenous media studies allow us access to the micro-processes of what Roland
Robertson has famously called “glocalization”—in this case, the interpenetration of global media
technologies with hyperlocal needs, creatively adapted to work within and sustain the local
culture rather than to replace it or homogenize it, as some globalization theorists have long
feared. The scope of indigenous media studies, a growing field of interdisciplinary scholarship, is
quite broad and extensive. We first present some core literature in the emerging field of
indigenous media studies, followed by a handful of illustrative case studies. In the second main
section, we provide focused attention on works dealing with some specific media genres: film
and video production, radio and television broadcasting, and the emerging field of indigenous
digital media. Next, we divide the field by geographic and cultural regions and areas, looking at
significant work being done in and about indigenous media in the Americas, Australia, New
Zealand, Europe (including Russia and the Arctic North), Africa, and Asia. This Oxford
Bibliographies article is partnered with that of the separate Oxford Bibliographies article “Native
Americans,” and so we refer the reader to that article to avoid excessive duplication. In the spirit
of much indigenous mediamaking, this was a collaborative production. The primary author,
Pamela Wilson, wishes to thank her main collaborator, Joanna Hearne, who contributed expertise
on North American indigenous media, particularly to the section on Indigenous Film and Video.
Other significant contributors were AmaliaCórdova on Latin America and Sabra Thorner on
Australia.

The Global Indigenous Movement

What is distinctive about indigenous media are those characteristics at the core of the indigenous
or aboriginal experience. The current understanding in international law about indigeneity
includes cultural groups that can claim to have occupied and used the resources of a specific
territory prior in time to other known occupants, that self-identify as a distinct culture, that
voluntarily perpetuate cultural distinctiveness, and that have experienced “subjugation,
marginalization, dispossession, exclusion, or discrimination, whether or not these conditions
persist” (Wilson and Stewart 2008, p. 14; see also Kingsbury 1998). While the study of
indigenous peoples has traditionally been in the domain of anthropology, indigenous media is
now a significant focus of interdisciplinary study (including media and communication, ethnic
studies, cultural studies, art history, geography, development studies, and political science) for
those interested in the way that media technologies have been appropriated by small-scale,
usually locally rooted, indigenous cultural groups throughout the world for a wide range of
purposes, ranging from archiving of cultural knowledge to political activism to artistic
expression. As Wilson and Stewart 2008, Salazar 2009, and Salazar 2007indicate, the
phenomenon of indigenous media must be placed within the context of the globalization process
and, in particular, the international indigenous movement of the latter half of the 20th century,
shepherded by agencies of the United Nations such as the Working Group on Indigenous
Populations (1982–2006) and, since 2002, the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous
Issues (one of three current UN bodies with a specific mandate to address the rights of
indigenous peoples; others are the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples,
founded in 2007, and the Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, a position the
international legal specialist James Anaya took over in 2008). The work of these international
working groups led to the passing in September 2007 of the Declaration of the Rights of
Indigenous Peoples by the UN General Assembly. Córdova 2005 reminds us that this
international community is also deeply involved in efforts to fund indigenous media productions
as well as to facilitate their circulation (see Distribution, Circulation, and Reception).

http://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/view/document/obo-9780199791286/obo-9780199791286-
0229.xml

Indigenous Media, Empowering Indigenous Voices

The International Day of the World's Indigenous People, celebrated each year on 9 August, is organized this
year under the theme "Indigenous Media, Empowering Indigenous Voices". This theme was chosen to
highlight the role of media in supporting indigenous peoples’ models of development that are in accordance
with their own priorities, cultures and knowledge systems.

The power of media in shaping people’s lives is widely acknowledged. But communication and
media are also the keys to raising awareness, sharing knowledge and supporting a broader debate
on indigenous knowledge, culture and values.

In Nepal, indigenous peoples’ communities have so far little access, voice and participation in
the mainstream media.
“We need to build the capacity of indigenous journalists, and to sensitize media professionals
from as many ethnic groups as possible to better understand and cover the issues affecting
indigenous people”, says Axel Plathe, Head of UNESCO Office in Kathmandu.

Special attention needs to be given to issues like mother tongue content, access to ICT and
inclusion of indigenous journalists, both women and men, in mainstream media.

Indigenous media “ is especially important for indigenous women, whose voices are shunted
aside, and who are making already a significant contribution to local human development. The
media can help educate and inform. They can include and bolster voices. They can also promote
changes in attitudes and social behavior, and help identify sustainable opportunities for
development that are inclusive and equitable” says Irina Bokova, Director-General of UNESCO
in her message on the occasion of the Day.

MsBokova also stressed the fact that indigenous peoples are “custodians to a great wealth of
languages and traditions. They have access to deep wells of knowledge and creativity”. Local
and indigenous knowledge systems and environmental management practices provide valuable
insight and tools for tackling ecological challenges. New forms of media can play a crucial role
to capitalize the positive practices embedded in indigenous cultures by fostering synergies
between modern services and local knowledge and assist communities in taking full advantages
of their social assets - the knowledge, culture and governance systems.

Intangible heritage is not only a source of identity and history. Values and ways of thinking,
reflected in the languages, oral traditions and diverse cultural manifestations, collectively created
and re-created over time, are the foundation of community life.

UNESCO underscores the importance of harnessing indigenous knowledge and ensuring their
bearers’ continuity in producing and broadcasting their skills, including respect for their practices
in public services such as education and health. Media and communication are essential tools
also to create spaces for the expression of indigenous voices in the ongoing debate of the role of
their culture and identity in development.

http://www.unesco.org/new/en/kathmandu/about-this-office/single-
view/news/indigenous_media_empowering_indigenous_voices/
 THE COMMUNITY MEDIA AND THE INDIGENOUS PEOPLE

Community Media

• Are any forms of media that function in service of or by a community.

• It is having access to or creating local alternatives to mainstream broadcasting

(local community newspapers, radio stations, or magazines)

• “Participation” and “access”

• Aids in the process of building citizenship and raising social awareness

Indigenous People

Indigenous peoples, also known as first peoples, aboriginal peoples or native peoples, are
ethnic groups who are the original settlers of a given region, in contrast to groups that have
settled, occupied or colonized the area more recently.

• Indigenous Knowledge

Indigenous knowledge (IK) is the local knowledge – knowledge that is unique to a given
culture or society. IK contrasts with the international knowledge system generated by
universities, research institutions and private firms. (Warren, 1991)

• Indigenous Media

…owned, controlled and managed by indigenous peoples in order for them to develop
and produce culturally appropriate information in the languages understood by the community by
utilizing indigenous materials and resources, reflecting community needs and interests, visions
and aspirations, and independent from vested interest groups. (Indigenous Media, Freedom of
Expression and Right to Information: A S E A N S c e n a r i o, 2014)

Characteristics of Indigenous Media

• Oral tradition of communication

• Store information in memories

• Information exchange is face- to-face

 • Information are contain within the border of the community

Ethnographic Films

Prospector, explorer, and eventual filmmaker Robert J. Flaherty is considered to

be the forefather of ethnographic film. He is most famous for his 1922
film Nanook of the North. Flaherty's attempts to realistically portray Inuit people
were valuable pictures of a little-known way of life, with elements of docudrama,
at a time when the concept of separating films into documentary and drama did not
yet exist. Ethnographic film is closely aligned with documentary film both in its
history and form. Some have attempted to differentiate the two by categorizing
films as either “ethnographic documentary” or “anthropologically intended
cinema.” The most popular conception of ethnographic film is that it is a film
about any non-Western culture, often considered to be exotic.

A practice of documentary film and of visual anthropology informed by the

theories, methods, and vocabulary of the discipline of anthropology, involving use
of the film camera as a research tool in documenting whole, or definable parts of,
cultures with methodological awareness and precision. In its strictest definition,
ethnographic film constitutes a form of academic research, with an intended
audience of scholars of anthropology.
 EXAMPLE OF INDIGENOUS MEDIA
Aboriginal Media - One of the most notable aboriginal media in existence is run by the
Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association or CAAMA called Imparja (which
means “tracks” or “footprints” in Central Australian language, Arrente) is a commercial
station intended for the aboriginal population.

Explanation:

Imparja is one of the most notable media in Aboriginal, Australia and run by the Central
Australian Aboriginal Media Association or CAAMA, it means tracks or footprints
according to the language of Australian.

SAMPLE LOGO OF IMPARJA

Explanation:

Imparja Television began transmission on 2 January 1988. Imparja Television's first logo
was developed from a painting produced by an Arrernte artist and traditional owner. The
logo symbolised the MacDonnell Ranges, the Todd River and the Yeperenye Caterpillar.
Apart from public service announcements it also broadcasts aboriginal programs aimed at
promoting awareness about the concerns and issues of Aboriginal people, preserves the
aboriginal languages and culture through art, music, stories and dances. (Ginsburg,
1991)

Explanation:

Apart from Imparja and other public service announcements Aboriginal people preserves
the aboriginal languages, art, music, stories and dances.

SAMPLE OF ABORIGINAL CULTURE:

Explanation:

 A corroboree is a ceremonial meeting for Australian Aboriginal people.

 A smoking ceremony is a cleansing ritual performed on special occasions.

 Tjurunga or churingaare objects of religious significance by Central Australian

Aboriginal Arrernte (Aranda, Arundta) groups.

 Walkabout refers to a commonly held belief that Australian Aboriginals would

undergo a rite of passage journey during adolescence by living away from their
family group area.
 Traditional media
-Print, radio, television - was initially invented as a means of mass communication with purpose
to inform.

Radio

Before and During World War I

Prior to the 1920s the radio was primarily used to contact ships that were out at sea. Radio
communications were typically achieved by the use of Morse code messages. This was of great
benefit to vessels in the water, particularly during emergency situations. With World War I the
importance of the radio became apparent and its usefulness increased significantly. During the
war, the military used it almost exclusively and it became an invaluable tool in sending and
receiving messages to the armed forces.

Radio and the 1920s

In the 1920s, following the war, radios began to increase in popularity amongst civilians. Across
the U.S. and Europe, broadcasting stations such as KDKA in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and
England's British Broadcasting Company (BBC) began to surface. In 1920 the Westinghouse
Company applied for and received a commercial radio license which allowed for the creation of
KDKA. KDKA would then become the first radio station officially licensed by the government.
It was Westinghouse which also began advertising the sale of radios to the public. Home-built
radio receivers were a solution for some and began to create a problem for the manufacturers
who were selling them. As a result the Radio Corporation Agreements, RCA, was sanctioned by
the government. Under RCA, certain companies could make receivers, while other companies
were approved to make transmitters. Only one company, AT&T, was able to toll and chain
broadcast. It was AT&T that, in 1923, released the first radio advertisement. In the late 20s, CBS
and NBC were created in response to AT&T being the sole station with rights to toll
broadcasting.
In Britain, radio broadcasts began in 1922 with the British Broadcasting Company, or BBC, in
London. The broadcasts quickly spread across the UK but failed to usurp newspapers until 1926
when the newspapers went on strike. At this point the radio and the BBC became the leading
source of information for the public. In both the U.S. and the U.K. it also became a source of
entertainment in which gathering in front of the radio as a family became a common occurrence
in many households.

World War II and Changes Following the War

During World War II, the radio once again fulfilled an important role for both the U.S. and the
U.K. With the help of journalists, radio relayed news of the war to the public. It was also a
rallying source and was used by the government to gain public support. In the U.K. it became the
primary source of information after the shut-down of television stations. The way in which radio
was used also changed the world after World War II. While it had been a source of entertainment
in the form of serial programs, it began to focus more on playing the music of the time. The
"Top-40" in music became popular and the target audience went from families to pre-teens up to
adults in their mid-thirties. Music and radio continued to rise in popularity until they became
synonymous with one another. FM radio stations began to overtake the original AM stations, and
new forms of music, such as rock and roll, began to emerge.

Television

How Did Early Televisions Work?

The two types of televisions

Mechanical Televisions
Mechanical televisions relied on rotating disks to transmit images from a transmitter to the
receiver. Both the transmitter and receiver had rotating disks. The disks had holes in them spaced
around the disk, with each hole being slightly lower than the other.
To transmit images, you had to place a camera in a totally dark room, then place a very bright
light behind the disk. That disk would be turned by a motor in order to make one revolution for
every frame of the TV picture.

Electronic Televisions
There’s a reason we stopped using mechanical televisions: electronic televisions were vastly
superior.
Electronic televisions rely on a technology called a Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) as well as two or
more anodes. The anodes were the positive terminals and the cathode was the negative terminal.
The “Cathode” part of the Cathode Ray Tube was a heated filament enclosed in a glass Tube (the
“T” of CRT). The Cathode would release a beam of electronics into the empty space of the tube
(which was actually a vacuum).
All of these released electrons had a negative charge and would thus be attracted to positively
charged anodes. These anodes were found at the end of the CRT, which was the television
screen. As the electrons were released at one end, they were displayed on the television screen at
the other end.
Of course, firing electrons against a glass screen doesn’t make images. To make images, the
inside of the television screen would be coated with phosphor. The electrons would paint an
image on the screen one line at a time.
To control the firing of electrons, CRTs use two “steering coils”. Both steering coils use the
power of magnets to push the electron beam to the desired location on the screen. One steering
coil pushes the electrons up or down, while the other pushes them left or right.
Print
Decades after their birth, traditional media still
remain as a primary source of information

People keep in touch with the world through newspaper headlines, and news
and current affairs programs. In times of natural disasters, the public relies on
traditional media for weather reports and updates. The academic, educational, and
scholar societies, lean heavily on various types of print media for research. The
masses are exposed to multiple subjects through feature articles, and magazine
programs. These and much more are just some of the information source
applications of traditional media.

The public has always relied on traditional media to give credible and
reliable information. This is because any information they release goes through
rigorous process of check and balance. This standard procedure, in accordance
with strict rules and regulations imposed upon them, is the reason behind
traditional media’s undisputable role as a source of information.
 The Library as source of information

Introduction

The Internet has become a big library for all kinds of information. Some information sources
are available online free of charge while others are fee-based. Examples include online books,
databases, journals and reference resources. Some of these are free on the Internet while others
are based on subscription or purchase. MEDLINE/PubMed is a good example of a free online
database while EMBASE is based on subscription.
Below are the various categories of information sources that could be accessed through the Web.

 Reference

 Monographs

 Periodicals

 Indexes and abstracts

 Drug information

 Databases

EXPLANATION:

In addition to providing materials, libraries also provide the services of librarians who are
experts at finding and organizing information and at interpreting information
needs. ... Libraries often provide public facilities for access to their electronic resources and the
Internet.

Reference Sources

These are authoritative works that provide specific answers or information. As you go through
school, you will need to use reference sources to find information about topics, locate facts, and
answer questions. There are many types of reference sources, including atlases, dictionaries,
encyclopedias, thesauri, directories, almanacs, manuals, biographies, and handbooks, among
others. Each type is available either in print, on CD-ROMs and the Internet. Reference
information sources can be general or subject specific. For example, The Encyclopedia
Britannica is general while The Encyclopedia of Stem-Cell Research, The Encyclopedia of Pain,
and The Gale encyclopedia of Medicine are subject encyclopedias. Other reference sources such
as dictionaries, atlases, directories also have both general and subject categories.
A set of Encyclopedia BritannicaGale Encyclopedia of Medicine

 Monographs

A monograph is a scholarly piece of writing in form of an essay or book on a specific, often

limited subject. It is a book that stands on its own rather than being part of a series. According
to The National Research Council (NRC), a monograph is a specialized scientific book.
Monographs are written by specialists for the benefit of other specialists and demand the highest
standards of scholarship. Most monographic manuscripts are critically reviewed and edited
resulting in books that are expected to have a reasonably long shelf life .

Monographs serve as an important means for conveying basic background information, such as
a narrative description of a disease, path-physiology, diagnostic techniques and common
therapeutic regimes etc. This trend remains true today, whether the monograph is in the print or
electronic formal.Monographs can be located using bibliographies that list references of books
with detailed bibliographic information (author, title, year of publication, publisher and date of
publication). Bibliographies serve as tools for verification, location and selection of
monographs. Today, many print sources for monographs are now in electronic formats. To
locate monographs in a library collection requires using the library catalog and most libraries
now have Online Public Access Catalog (OPAC). A good example is the National Library of
Medicine LOCATOR plus.

 Periodicals

Periodicals are publications such as journals, newspapers, or magazines published on a

regular basis - daily, weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, bimonthly, quarterly, yearly, etc. The
information in periodicals covers a wide variety of topics and is very up-to-date. Periodicals are
available in both print and electronic formats. Common examples of periodicals include
popular magazines (or general interest magazines), professional and trade magazines, scholarly
journals, newsletters, and newspapers. The two basic types of periodicals are: popular (or
general interest magazines), and scholarly.

 Popular

Popular magazines are periodicals of non-specialist nature. The published articles are usually
written by staff writers, and chosen by the editor of the publication .Magazine articles are
usually shorter, written in non-technical language, and designed for the general population.
Articles in popular magazines are reviewed by one or two members of staff of the organization
where they are published. Popular magazines have a glossy appearance, contains many
photographs and advertisements.
Examples of popular magazines are:
  Trade Magazines

These are magazines that present information about a profession or a particular trade. They are
written for members of a specific business, industry or organization. Trade magazines cover
industry trends, new products or techniques, and organizational news written by staff or
contributing authors. Good examples of trade magazines are: The Economist, APA
Monitor and Computer World.

 Scholarly Journals

Journals are written by experts or specialists in a particular field/discipline and geared towards
other scholars. The purpose of scholarly publications is to report research or advance
knowledge .The articles are usually longer and may contain charts, graphs, statistics, etc., as
well as extensive bibliographies. The articles usually involve extensive research and in-depth
studies. The writing style is more complex and the language may be technical. Examples of this
type of periodical are academic journals and professional journals. Academic journals are
written by members of an academic community and are reviewed by their peers while
professional journals are written by member of a professional body including librarians,
lawyers, doctors and nurses. Examples of academic journals are:

 Newspapers

Newspaper articles are short and written in non-technical language. They provide first-hand
account of an event and so are primary sources. Newspapers come in different forms and are
designed for the general public and are business in nature. Newspaper articles are usually short
and written in an easy to understand language by staff reporters and reviewed by staff within the
organization. Newspapers are also good sources for secondary information. However, not all
information in newspapers is reliable. Newspapers are published daily, weekly or monthly.
Example of newspapers include: The New York Times, The Guardian, and Nigerian Tribune etc.

 Indexes and Abstracts

Abstracts and indexes provide citations to papers dealing with specific topics in a field of
knowledge. Indexes provide the essential bibliographic information needed to identify an
article or other publications and usually include information about the author of the work, the
source journal or other publication, volume, issue, and pagination. Abstracting tools include the
same key elements but also a summary of the work usually written by the author or sometimes
generated by the reviewer where an author did not submit one. Most indexing and abstracting
services allow access to their content through subject and author indexes. However, each tool
differs on how data is presented and the nature by which access is organized. Examples of
abstracts and indexes include:
  Drug Information Sources

According to butrosand McGuinness (2004), drug information sources cover the fields of
pharmacology (the study of the physiological actions of drugs), pharmacy (the compounding,
manufacture and dispensing of drugs) and toxicology (the study of hazardous effects of
chemicals).There are as many drug information sources as there are various specialties. Below
are some sources for drug information:

 Databases

These are systematically organized collections of information covering different subject matters
or specializing in one given subject or topic.They may be arranged in a table of contents,
alphabetically, in numerical order, in an index or in subject categories. A database is made up
of records. Each item in the database has one record. Records consist of smaller units of
information called fields. Common bibliographic database fields are: author, publication title,
article title, subject or keywords, publication date, volume, issue and page number. For
example, in the MEDLINE/PubMed database, each journal citation has one record. The record
consists of the following fields: author, article title, journal title, date of publication, volume,
issue, page number, PubMed ID, and abstract. A digital database is a computer program that
organizes, describes, and indexes information. It permits the user to search for specific types of
information, depending upon the selected search parameters.

http://karibouconnections.net/medlibafrica/training_module/19.html

TYPES OF INFORMATION SOURCE

Reference Books

 Include facts, figures, addresses, statistics, definitions, dates, etc.

 Useful for finding factual or statistical information or for a brief overview of a particular
topic.

 Examples: dictionaries, encyclopedias, directories

Newspapers (News sources)

 Provides very current information about events, people, or places at the time they are
published

 Useful for information on current events or to track the development of a story as it

unfolds
  Examples: The Chicago Tribune, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, CNN

Magazines

 Include articles on diverse topics of popular interest and current events

 Articles typically written by journalists or professional writers

 Geared toward the general public

 Examples: Time, Newsweek, National Geographic

Academic Journals (Peer-reviewed or scholarly journals)

 Include articles written by and for specialists/experts in a particular field

 Articles must go through a peer review process before they're accepted for publication

 Articles tend to have a narrower focus and more analysis of the topic than those in other
types of publications

 Include cited references or footnotes at the end of research articles

 Examples: Journal of Communication, The Historian, Journal of the American Medical

Association

Books

 Cover virtually any topic, fact or fiction

 Useful for the complete background on an issue or an in-depth analysis of a theory or

person

 Can take years to publish, so may not always include the most current information

 Examples: The Politics of Gun Control, To Kill a Mockingbird, Hemingway and Faulkner
in their Time

https://library.triton.edu/research
 The Internet as source of Information

Abundance, availability, and accessibility are the three key aspects of

Internet as source of information. The World Wide Web has considerably grown
from its introduction in 1991. As of the writing in this book, Internet Live Stats has
reported over a billion of registered websites.

Indeed it is impossible to run out of content from the web of information

known as the Internet. Experts, scientists, professionals, intellectuals have pooled
their works and resources together in cyberspace. By allowing the free flow of
information from different sources, the Internet has made information available to
all.

The existence of wireless connections and mobile gadgets made access to

The Internet easier and ever present. All these three combined accounts for
Internet’s reputation as the leading source of information in the digital age.