paul mundy sources of information where and how do we get our information?

Paul Mundy www.mamud.com

Sources of information

Where and how do we get our information?


Three ways to gather information Direct observations

Field visits, experiments Interviews, surveys

Participatory appraisal, focus groups

Documents Materials already written Desk study

Primary information

Secondary information


Desk studies

Advantages Easy and quick to do Based on documents

already written Possible to evaluate

wide range of evidence Detached, objective

Disadvantages Do not meet people

affected Depend on what has

already been written and published

Lack immediacy, personal impact

Can be boring!


Commer-

cial infoCommer-

cial info

Policy briefs

Policy briefs

Types of secondary information GossipGossip

ConversationsConversations

Media reports

Media reports

Phone calls

Phone calls

NGO

documentsNGO

documents

Research

papersResearch

papers

BlogsBlogs

ConferencesConferences

Emails

Emails

MeetingsMeetings

Web-sites

Web-sites

Online books

Online books

SeminarsSeminars

Academic books

Conference

proceedings

Textbooks

Refereed journals

Parlia-

mentary

records

Parlia-

mentary

recordsStat-istics

Stat-istics

LawsLaws


Credibility of sources

Reliable, objective, unbiased, accessible

Unreliable, putting one

point of view, inaccessible

Refereed journals

Scientific reports

Laws

Lobbying materials

1-person views

Blogs

Unpublished materials

Non-refereed papers

Professionally edited reports

Official statistics

Self-published

information

Unedited reports


Which sources to use?

Reliable, credible, objective Do not reflect individual interests Reflect wide range of research, not just a

single experiment or case Refereed, published


Finding sources

Internet search Don’t just rely on Google Also use specialist search engines

Eg, Scirus for scientific info Get a librarian to help

Specialist skills, access to large document collections


Finding sources

Library search Private document collections

Maybe they have just the document you need Full literature survey?

Time-consuming and too much detail?


Finding sources

Phone calls/emails to key individuals Call for information via mailing lists Join a Community of Practice

Group of people interested in the same topic, who share information

Contract out review to an expert Make sure you get the right person!


Not enough information?

Not very likely! Think of other search terms Call some experts Reformulate your question


Too much information?

Use more specific search terms Tie your search terms together with and or + Use quote marks (“ ”) to search for set

phrases Exclude items you don’t want (with - ) In Google

Search for Paul Mundy finds an Irish musician as well as a communication specialist

Search for “Paul Mundy” +communication -music


Too much information?

Identify a few key documents Focus on the main points Don’t get bogged down in detail Keep your main questions in mind


Cite your sources!

Use footnotes or references Make it clear who says what

“John Farrington of the Overseas Development Institute, a British research group, says…”

Provide balance “The industry favours XYZ, while NGOs press for

ABC”