Topic 8    Summary

In this section we have covered where information comes from, how it is generated and how it reaches you as a consumer. We talked about the ‘journey’ that information makes from generation to consumption using a model called the ‘information supply chain’. We have also described the need to organise and categorise information into different types and we have detailed many of these different types. Finally we explained where to find these different types of information.

So, if you think of the last TMA (tutor marked assignment) or any other piece of written work that you did and having worked through this section, can you list the different categories of information that you used to produce it? Either try using the grey/primary/secondary categories or the format categories (book, journal, internet etc).

Now that you have worked through this section, we hope that you will have a greater awareness of the range of different resources available, and an idea of which are most relevant for your particular purpose. In Section Three we will be looking at the next stage in the process, showing you how to get from knowing broadly what information you are looking for, to planning exactly how you are going to find it. Good luck!