Trek 11: Understanding the information cycle

Feedback
Send the InfoTrekk Plus team your comments

How has the idea of genetic engineering become so widespread that now most people know about Dolly the cloned sheep? Researchers' work was reported, reviewed and written about so widely that it became common knowledge. This information stimulates new ideas and research and the cycle continues.

This Trek covers how information develops and is published over time, from 'primary' to 'secondary' to 'tertiary' sources and how you can find them. Trek on!
Trek 11 logo

Stage 1: Ideas and research in progress
Stage 2: Original publication: 'primary sources'
Stage 3: Later publication: 'secondary sources'
Stage 4: Summary publication: reference works
Stage 5: Guides to the literature: 'tertiary sources'
The Information Cycle: a diagram
Helpful hints

InfoTrekker Plus Quiz 11

Links

Stage 1: Ideas and research in progress

Researchers are always working on new ideas. For example, they can be:

Education students developing new ways to use computers in the classroom.
Researchers in Australian departments of agriculture experimenting with ways to reverse soil salinity.
Staff at Curtin University's Research Institute for Cultural Heritage studying the records of C.Y. O'Connor's engineering projects in Western Australia.

In the research phase, information is usually recorded in lab notes, computer files or messages sent to colleagues via email, newsgroups, faxes etc. Very few people have access to these in-progress sources, except perhaps the network of colleagues (the 'invisible college').

However, some researchers write letters to peer-reviewed journals with brief details of their findings, and university research students often give seminars on their thesis to seek comments from their lecturers and fellow students.

Finding 'in-progress sources':

Information about ongoing research is often the most difficult to find because it is so current. However, here are some ways you can try to find out about research in progress:

Search relevant indexing databases with terms for your topic. This may find any letters published in journals. (See Trek 12: More about databases).
Search the World Wide Web
Many universities and research organisations list their research projects on the Web to attract grant money and students. To find them, use a search engine, search on words for the topic and the terms 'research projects' or 'research center' or 'research centre'. You could also add terms for the country. Some search engines also allow you to limit your search to a domain name such as 'edu.au' - for Australian educational sites. (For the basics, see Trek 7: Searching the WWW.)
Search electronic lists, newsgroups or blogs on the subject. Many have their own searchable archives. (See Trek 18: Keeping up-to-date).

top

Stage 2: Original publication: 'primary sources'

Often, your lecturers will ask you to find only 'primary sources' of information. Primary sources are the first publication of original research findings, usually published at least 2 years after the research begins, giving very detailed information. Primary sources can be:

a paper delivered to a conference by the researcher/s ('conference paper')
an article published in a peer-reviewed journal ('peer-reviewed' or 'refereed' article')
a student's thesis which has become available in the library, in their department, or on the Web. (See Trek 16: Finding theses).
technical reports and government reports

Finding 'primary sources' :

To find primary sources of information on a topic, you can search:

Subject-specific indexing databases which index peer-reviewed journals. Many may also index conference papers, theses and reports, so a subject search on a relevant database should find them. (See Trek 12: More about databases).
The Dissertation Abstracts database and library catalogues to help you to find theses. (See Trek 16: Finding theses).
A Web search engine. Use a search engine to find original articles which may be published in freely available, peer-reviewed electronic journals on the Web. It is best to search here after any indexing databases to avoid having to sift through a lot of information. (See Trek 7: Searching the WWW).
Library catalogues to find technical and government reports.

top

Stage 3: Later publication: 'secondary sources'

New information from primary sources adds to the information in books, journal articles etc. which already exists on a subject. At some point, someone may review the literature up to a certain date, summarising and evaluating the main findings. Secondary sources cite primary sources and are usually less detailed. They can be:

Review articles published in journals or annual review publications such the Annual Review of Genetics or Advances in Art Therapy. Here is a reference to a review article:

Ahmed, A.K, Johnson, K.A, 2000, Horticultural development of Australian native edible plants, [Review], Australian Journal of Botany, vol. 48, no.4, pp:417-26.

Reading a recent literature review is an excellent way to get a broad picture of a specialised area up to a certain point in time.

Scholarly books, student textbooks or journal articles which cite previous publications. Some scholarly books may also include original information.
Popular literature like self-help books or articles in popular magazines such as Psychology Today or Popular Mechanics.

Finding 'secondary sources':

To find secondary sources, you can search the following:

Search relevant indexing databases with your topic terms and add the term 'review' or tick the Review option on some databases to find review articles.

Search your library catalogue with subject terms and the terms 'annual review' or 'advances' to find annual review publications-as in the following sample searches:

nursing--annual review
genetics--advances
Search your library catalogue with subject keywords to find recent books on your topic which refer to earlier literature and primary sources.

top

Stage 4: Summary publication: reference works

Reference works, such as dictionaries and encyclopaedias contain information that has been summarised from primary and secondary sources. They can appear from 2 to 7 years after original publications on a subject.

Other types of reference works that give the essential facts are desk references such as handbooks, manuals and data books. Some examples are:

The Psychologists' Desk Reference
Marks' Standard Handbook for Mechanical Engineers

Reference works can be the oldest and the most summarised forms of information. As they can take information from primary (and secondary) sources, they have been referred to as secondary sources, although this is not always so.

Finding reference works:

Reference works are usually found in library Reference Collections and can be books, CD-ROMs or Web documents. To find them, you can:

Search library catalogues using broad subject terms and 'form' terms. Here are some search examples:

art--dictionaries
economics--encyclopedias
mathematics-- tables

Search library Web sites for links to 'Electronic Reference Resources', 'Reference Resources' or 'Subject Guides'. Librarians will have searched the Internet to find valuable Web and print reference works for you.

top

Stage 5: Guides to the literature and subject guides: 'tertiary sources'

Guides to the literature list the major 'primary' and 'secondary' sources on a subject , including reference works, books, journals, databases and Web sites. They can be referred to as tertiary sources and are great for finding out about a subject area that is new to you. Here is one example:

Fong,C. 1990, Finding the Law: a guide to Australian secondary sources of legal information. Sydney, Legal Information Press.

The titles listed won't always be in your library or be very up to date, so many libraries, including Curtin, also create print or electronic library subject guides ('pathfinders') to material which is only in their collection.

Finding 'tertiary sources':

Search your library's Web site or ask at the Enquiries Desk on level 2 of the library for library subject guides or 'pathfinders'. Curtin Library has many subject guides on its Web site. See links.
Search library catalogues
Use terms for the broad subject area as well as the terms 'information sources' (try this first) or 'bibliography' or 'research'. Here are some catalogue search examples:

architecture---information sources
nursing---bibliography
mass media---research

top

Helpful hints

Most businesses have Web sites, but they usually don't publish their research or market survey results. Why? Information on new products is often confidential until a Patent has been granted for it. See links for more patent information.

Many universities are developing online collections of their researchers’ publications (which have been published at conferences or in refereed journals). These are called ‘institutional repositories’. An example is Curtin University’s e-space@curtin database. See links.
The term 'primary source' is also used for original documents such as letters, emails, photographs, autobiographies, newspaper articles, Acts of Parliament, law case reports etc. (See Trek 19: Finding unpublished information).

Articles sent to peer-reviewed journals may take a while to be published. A group of people who is knowledgeable in the field must review it and approve it for publication. Such articles are of a high standard and are more credible due to this evaluation process. The journal may also send the author some pre-prints of the article to give to colleagues.

There may be a time lag for references to newly published articles, conference papers or theses to appear in indexing databases, especially the full-text of the article etc.

In some rapidly changing fields such as computing and electronics, researchers may also choose to publish new developments in peer-reviewed electronic journals on the Internet so that their work is publicised quickly.

top

or Quiz 11 (Text version)

Now for some exercise in our Quiz!
Then, try Trek 12: More about databases or... choose another Trek!

Links:
Curtin Library's Subject Guides

Curtin Library's Patents Information

e-space @Curtin

top