Page 101 - DLIS407_INFORMATION AND LITERATURE SURVEY IN SOCIAL SCIENCES

Information and Literature Survey in Social Sciences

Notes collection the service provided is very poor and the user population in very large. Because of poor
services even the Social Scientists are not too much demanding and are usually satisfied with whatever
is made available to them, lnfact Social Scientists world wide are not very demanding - to just give
one example - Social Scientists are contended and still managing with Encyclopedia* published in
1935 and 1970 the major percentage of contents of these Encyclopedias can hardly be categorised as
scientific today.
In some of the countries where information/documentation centres have been established those are not
supported and maintained property thus resulting in their low sustainity. In others there is almost an
absence of such services information source infrastructure in social sciences needs to be straightened
in priority basis. The occasional and episodic involvement of funding agencies has to be replaced by
a programme of continuing support for building up a rich resource base in social sciences.

11.6 Summary

y Information sources of Social Sciences shall be reviewed periodically for maintenance of its
collection to cater the current needs of the users.
y Social science scholars shall also be approached to collect their healthy/unhealthy views to
make the access to the information more efficient and effective.
y Secondary sources consist of not only published records and reports, but also unpublished
records
y Most books are initially reviewed by publishers or editors for quality of content and writing
style, as well as marketability.
y Periodical articles generally undergo review processes, but at different levels, depending on
the type of publication.
y Information on the internet is mostly unfiltered, requiring extra caution in selecting reliable
sources. Virtually anyone can create a web site on a topic, regardless of their training, education,
or experience in the subject field
y 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

11.7 Keywords

Primary sources: Primary sources are original materials on which other research studies are based.
Secondary source: A secondary source of information is one that was created by someone who did not
have firsthand experience or did not participate in the events or conditions being researched
Tertiary sources: Tertiary sources consist of information which is a distillation and collection of
primary and secondary sources

11.8 Review Questions

1. What are the key guidelines to evaluate the information sources?
2. Define secondary sources of information.
3. What are the important points to remember in evaluating the secondary and tertiary sources
of information?
4. Write a note on tertiary sources of information and their evaluation.

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