Skills in Accessing, Finding & Reviewing Information - Safari

Skip to content

1 . Understanding information 1. Introduction 2. What is information? 3. The information age 4. Everyday uses 5. Types of information 6. Information universe 7. Mapping sources 8. Identifying needs 9. Summary

2 . Unpacking information 1. Introduction 2. Information journeys 3. Supply chain 4. Research supply chain 5. Categorising information 6. Shape of the literature 7. Finding information 8. Summary

3 . Planning a search 1. Introduction 2. Describing information 3. Databases 4. Library catalogues 5. World Wide Web 6. Which to use? 7. Planning a search 8. Choosing resources 9. Summary

4 . Searching for information 1. Introduction 2. Basic principles 3. Databases 4. Library catalogues 5. World Wide Web 6. Tracking progress 7. Your subject 8. Summary

5 . Evaluating information 1. Introduction 2. Information quality 3. Presentation 4. Relevance 5. Objectivity 6. Method 7. Provenance 8. Timeliness 9. Summary

6 . Organising information 1. Introduction 2. Why organise? 3. Ways to organise 4. Social bookmarks 5. Citing references 6. Bibliographies 7. Summary

7 . Where do I go from here 1. Introduction 2. Sharing information 3. Electronic communication 4. Keeping up-to-date 5. Summary

Topic 6 Information universe

In Topic 5 we listed a lot of types of information which might be of use for your studies but, where are they to be found? In this topic we will look at how they all fit into the bigger picture of the information universe.

Think of yourself at the centre of a huge map of places where information might be found. You might divide it up as in the diagram below. Now, click on the different sections of the diagram to see the kinds of information to be found there.

Diagram of your information universe

You | Cyberspace | National/International | Your local community | Your workplace/university

© The Open University +44 (0)845 300 60 90 Email us