Page 68 - DLIS407_INFORMATION AND LITERATURE SURVEY IN SOCIAL SCIENCES

Unit 9: Information Sources

(xviii) Information is mainly related to abstracts and behaviors – Usually, information is related Notes
to abstracts and behaviors pertaining to an occurrence.
(xix) Information may be destroyed- It is characterized by the property of destruction.
(xx) Information may be interpreted wrongly-Information is the product of observation and
experimentation; it may be generated by anyone at anytime.

Task Why information is necessary in social science research?

9.1.3 Types of Information
According to shera, information may be categorized into the following types:

y Conceptual Information: The ideas, theories, hypotheses about the relationship which exists
among the variables in the area of a problem.
y Empirical Information: Experience, the data of research, may be drawn from one’s self or
through communication from others. It may be laboratory generated or it may be a product
of ‘Literature search’
y Procedural Information: The methodology which enables the investigator to operate more
effectively. Procedural information relates to the means by which the data of the investigation
is obtained, manipulated, and tested, it is certainly methodological, and from it has been
derived, the ‘scientific attitude’
y Stimulatory Information: Man must be motivated and there are but two sources of such
motivation, himself and his environment. Stimulatory information that is transmitted by
direct- communication the contagious enthusiasm of another individual-but whether directly
or indirectly communicated, it is probably the most difficult of all forms of information to
systematize.
y Policy Information: This is the focus of the decision-making process. Collective activity
necessitates the definition and objective and purpose, the fixing of responsibility, the
codification of rights and privileges, and the delineation of functions.
y Directive Information: Group activity cannot proceed effectively without coordination, and
it is through directive information that this coordination is achieved. The different types of
information are categorized on the basis of the characteristics of information. These characteristics
of information help in identifying the importance and usefulness of information.

Self Assessment

Fill in the blanks:
1. Information originates from an idea that creeps in the mind, as a result of………………. .
2. Information comprise three main characteristics such as timeliness, …………….. and action
orientation.
3. Information is the flow of……………... .
4. …………… includes the ideas, theories, hypotheses about the relation ship which exists
among the variables in the area of a problem.

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