Page 91 - DLIS407_INFORMATION AND LITERATURE SURVEY IN SOCIAL SCIENCES

Information and Literature Survey in Social Sciences

Notes y Records of organisations y Articles, such as literature
and government agencies y Reviews,
y Original works of y Commentaries, research
literature, art or music articles in all subject
y Cartoons, postcards, disciplines
posters y Criticism of works of
y Map, paintings, literature. Art and music
photographs, films

Self Assessment

Fill in the blanks:
1. …………..shall also be approached to collect their healthy/unhealthy views to make the
access to the information more efficient and effective.
2. Key sources of information can be classified under primary, secondary and …………….
sources.

11.2 Evaluation of Secondary Sources of Information in Social Science

Secondary sources consist of not only published records and reports, but also unpublished records.
The latter category includes various records and registers maintained by firms and organisations,
e.g., accounting and financial records, personnel records, register of members, minutes of meetings,
inventory records, etc.

11.2.1 Features of Secondary Sources

Though secondary sources are diverse and consist of all sorts of materials, they have certain common
characteristics.
y First, they are readymade and readily available, and do not require the trouble of constructing
tools and administering them.
y Second, they consist of data over which a researcher has no original control over collection
and classification. Others shape both the form and the content of secondary sources. Clearly,
this is a feature, which can limit the research value of secondary sources.
y Finally, secondary sources are not limited in time and space. That is, the researcher using them
need not have been present when and where they were gathered.

Uses of Secondary Data

The following are the three important uses of secondary data:
• First, some specific information from secondary sources may be used for reference
purposes.
• Second, secondary data may be used as bench marks against which the findings of a research
may be tested.
• Finally, secondary data may be used as the sole source of information for a research project.

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