COMM 111 Smith: Types of Information

Types of Information

Sources are containers for INFORMATION and different types of EVIDENCE.

jar with granola inside

Sources are helpful for research, but only as much as the information or evidence included within the source is useful for your purposes.

Think about the source -- whether a news piece, a book chapter or a website -- as the CONTAINER for the information or evidence.

Like the jar in this picture, sources are only as good as their contents, and selecting what’s most useful depends on what’s inside.
"Homemade granola in a jar. Healthy food on white background" by wuestenigel is marked with CC BY 2.0.

Learn more about the types of evidence and sources that will be useful for researching your topic below. See also SLIDES for Finding a variety of information to learn about a topic

Background information -- What's the landscape?

Background information can help you to determine the scope or boundaries of a topic and determine what you do and don’t want to learn or about.

Defining terms and setting context are a good example of how background information can be useful. It's helpful to think about background information as setting you up as the writer/speaker with a solid foundation and understanding of the main aspects of your topic. 

Sharing the right amount of background information can give your reader/audience confidence in your understanding of the topic and adds to your credibility or ETHOS as a writer/speaker.

These library databases provide articles with a general, objective (not opinionated) introduction to a topic: 

First-hand testimony -- What are people experiencing?

Talking to people who have direct experience with a topic or issue can provide unique information not available elsewhere. This includes first-hand experiences and expert testimony. It’s important to consider what makes a person an expert when giving testimony and sharing individual experiences. Are they speaking from within the community experiencing the issue? Do they have first-hand experience with the topic? A personal story that’s shared from lived experience can be very compelling and provide unique insights.

Including anecdotes or personal narratives can appeal to the emotions and values of the reader/audience and make the topic more vivid and connecting to their own experiences. This can appeal to PATHOS.

Personal interviews are an excellent way to collect first-hand testimony. You can also find find the stories and testimonies from people's lived experiences collected by journalists for news stories. 

Data or statistics --What is the trend?

Data and statistics can check our assumptions by providing proof of a trend. Is it really declining or on the rise? Data and statistics are often used to backup a statement along with other kinds of evidence in order to corroborate a claim. Data can also provide insight into what is or isn’t being collected or examined -- in other words, not every topic or question has a clear data point.

Relevant data and statistics can provide clear evidence in support of a claim, and appeal to the reader's /audience's logic when considering your ideas -- so it adds to the the writer's/speaker’s LOGOS.

Here are some places to find reliable statistics and other forms of numerical information.

Analysis -- What connections are being made?

Analysis can provide insights from experts after years of direct study and problem solving --  through original research, scholarship or professional work. Analysis can help make connections and show the complexity of an issue. It sometimes provides a recommendation or a suggestion for a course of action based on thoughtful considerations.

Sound analysis can really appeal to the listener's logic, or LOGOS, and give the reader confidence in your ability to present a sound argument. 

Analysis by scholars and researchers is published in peer reviewed Academic Journals. See the tab for Peer Reviewed Articles.