{"id":809,"date":"2020-08-14T20:59:03","date_gmt":"2020-08-14T20:59:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-esc-technicalwriting\/?post_type=chapter&p=809"},"modified":"2020-11-12T17:38:04","modified_gmt":"2020-11-12T17:38:04","slug":"types-of-sources","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-esc-technicalwriting\/chapter\/types-of-sources\/","title":{"raw":"Types of Sources","rendered":"Types of Sources"},"content":{"raw":"\"\"\r\n\r\nResearch involves collecting, sorting, and analyzing the information and data you find. Strong research involves using appropriate tools and comprehensive techniques. The stronger your research is, the more credible your technical document will be.\r\n\r\nArticles published in academic and professional journals, for practitioners in a particular field, are often an important in technical writing. Many technical writing projects require a\u00a0literature review, which collects, summarizes, and sometimes evaluates the work of researchers whose work has been recognized as a valuable contribution to a field.\r\n\r\nHowever, research in journals is not the only kind of research you'll find useful as a technical writer. There are many kinds of sources to draw upon, depending on what's required for each communication project.\r\n

Types of Sources<\/h2>\r\nThe typical kinds of research sources you might use for technical documents can be grouped into three broad categories:\r\n
    \r\n \t
  1. Primary Sources: Primary sources are original documents and first-hand accounts. These might include the results of research you conduct yourself through lab experiments, product testing, surveys, observations, measurements, interviews, site visits, prototype testing, beta testing,\u00a0etc. Primary sources may also be the results of another's research, presented first-hand in published statistical data, lab experiments, product testing documentation, etc. Original technical and scientific papers that present the results of the author's research, first-hand interviews, historical documents, and\/or legal documents are all primary sources.<\/li>\r\n \t
  2. Secondary Sources: Secondary sources discuss, analyze, and interpret primary data; they offer others' viewpoints' on the original data. For example, a primary source research study on Covid-19, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association<\/em>, may spawn a number of other articles by writers who interpret the original study's results and offer their own opinions, in respected publications such as The Atlantic<\/em>, The Wall Street Journal,\u00a0The New York Times<\/em>, and others. Reviews of research studies, meta-analyses, formal critiques, and opinion pieces are all secondary sources.<\/li>\r\n \t
  3. Tertiary Sources: Tertiary sources are background sources such as dictionaries, encyclopedias, and handbooks that summarize and consolidate primary and secondary information. Tertiary sources are useful to gain a general understanding of a concept, event, or research study. Tertiary sources may also provide an overview of different lines of inquiry or schools of thought in a field.<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\nNote that sometimes the line between primary and secondary sources blurs. For example, although newspapers and news websites contain primary source material, they also contain secondary source material. An article published on November 4, 2020, about the results of the U.S. presidential election, is a primary source, because it reports statistical data directly. However, an article published in the same newspaper two weeks later analyzing why the successful candidate was successful is a secondary source, because it interprets those statistical results in a certain way.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
    TABLE 1. Typical research sources for technical projects<\/caption>\r\n
    Source Type<\/strong><\/th>\r\nDescription<\/strong><\/th>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
    Academic Journals, Conference Papers, Dissertations, etc.<\/strong>\r\n\r\nmay yield primary and secondary source material\r\n<\/strong><\/th>\r\n\r\n

    Scholarly (peer-reviewed) academic sources publish primary research done by professional researchers and scholars in specialized fields, as well as reviews of that research by other specialists in the same field.<\/p>\r\n

    For example, the\u00a0Journal of Computer and System Sciences<\/em>\u00a0publishes original research papers in computer science and related subjects in system science;\u00a0International Journal of Robotics and Animation<\/em>\u00a0is one of the most highly ranked journals in the field.<\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n

    Reference Works<\/strong>\r\n\r\ntertiary sources<\/th>\r\n\r\n

    Specialized encyclopedias, handbooks, and dictionaries can provide useful terminology and background information.<\/p>\r\n

    For example, the\u00a0Kirk-Othmer Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology<\/em>\u00a0is a widely recognized authoritative source.<\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n

    Chapters in Books<\/strong>\r\n\r\nmay yield primary and secondary source material<\/th>\r\n\r\n

    Books written by specialists in a given field may contain a References section which can be very helpful in providing other sources, and also in-depth context, for your ideas.<\/p>\r\n

    For example,\u00a0Designing Engineers<\/em>\u00a0by Susan McCahan et al. has an excellent chapter on effective teamwork.<\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n

    Trade Magazines and Popular Science Magazines<\/strong>\r\n\r\nusually yield secondary source material<\/th>\r\n\r\n

    Reputable trade magazines contain articles relating to current issues and innovations, and therefore can be very useful in identifying current industry issues and understanding state of the art innovations.<\/p>\r\n

    Examples include\u00a0Computerworld<\/em>,\u00a0Wired<\/em>, and\u00a0Popular Mechanics<\/em>.<\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n

    Newspapers\u00a0<\/strong>\r\n\r\nmay yield primary or secondary source material<\/th>\r\n\r\n

    Newspaper articles and media releases offer information about what journalists and people in industry think the general public should know about a given topic. Journalists report on current events and recent innovations; more in-depth investigative journalism explores a current issue in greater detail. Newspapers also contain editorial sections that provide personal opinions on these events and issues. Original interviews in newspapers yield primary source material, while news stories generally yield secondary source material.<\/p>\r\n

    Choose well-known, reputable newspapers such as\u00a0The New York Times<\/em>.<\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n

    Industry & Organization Websites\u00a0<\/strong>\r\n\r\nmay yield primary or secondary source material<\/th>\r\n\r\n

    Industry websites can provide insight into current issues in an industry. If you access a particular company's website, you may find that company\u2019s mission statement, organization, strategic plan, current or planned projects, archived information, white papers, technical reports, product details, costs estimates, <\/em>and more. Organization websites also provide insight into current issues in an industry, and provide more general information about the overall industry (like public service sites).\r\n<\/em><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n

    Government Publications &\u00a0 Public Sector Web Sites\u00a0<\/strong><\/th>\r\n\r\n

    Government departments often publish reports and other documents that can be very helpful in determining public policy, regulations, and guidelines.<\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n

    Public Presentations<\/strong>\r\n\r\nmay yield primary or secondary source material<\/th>\r\n\r\n

    Representatives from industry and government speak to various audiences about current issues and proposed projects that may be related to the technical communication you need to prepare. There are many presentations available on\u00a0YouTube, TED talks, radio programs, podcasts, and more.<\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/tbody>\r\n<\/table>\r\n

    Types of Data<\/h2>\r\nData\u2014the information that sources provide\u2014can also be categorized in different ways.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
    Primary Data<\/strong><\/td>\r\nSecondary Data<\/strong><\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
    \r\n

    Data that have been directly observed, experienced, and recorded close to the event. This is data that you might create yourself by...<\/p>\r\n\r\n

      \r\n \t
    • Measurement<\/strong>: collecting numbers indicating amounts (temperature, size,\u00a0etc.<\/em>)<\/li>\r\n \t
    • Observation<\/strong>: with your own senses or with instruments (camera, microscope)<\/li>\r\n \t
    • Interrogation<\/strong>: conducting interviews, focus groups, surveys, polls, or questionnaires<\/li>\r\n \t
    • Participation<\/strong>: experience of doing or seeing something (visit the site, tour the facility, manipulate models or simulations, Beta test,\u00a0etc.<\/em>)<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/td>\r\n
    		\r\n

    Comes from sources that record, analyze, and interpret primary data. It is critical to evaluate the credibility of these sources. You might find such data in...<\/p>\r\n\r\n