Read below or view the module at http://134.154.30.8/staff/CamtasiaModules/infotypes/infotypes.html

Facts

• can be proved
• are concrete
• Examples
  • There are 15 cookies on this plate
  • The United States of America was founded in 1776

Opinions

• are based on what seems to be true
• are based on personal views and judgment
• Examples
  • The cookies taste good
  • I loved that movie I just saw!

Objective Information

• should present all sides of an issue
• is usually based on facts
• Note: often, experts in a field can speak objectively about an issue or a subject
• Examples
  • most encyclopedia articles
  • some books and periodical articles, as long as they present all aspects/angles of an issue

Subjective Information

• is often the opinion of an individual or a group
• presents some kind of analysis of the facts
• Examples
  • many books and periodical articles express one side of an issue and analyze it
  • book & movie reviews
  • Note: an event you experience that you try to explain is usually a type of subjective information
  • Example
    • "I saw The Dark Knight and I thought the costumes could have been better designed." This is your opinion; someone else who saw the movie might have a different opinion.
  • Hint: When you hear someone say "My understanding of the situation is..." or "I felt that the point of the story was...," you are about to hear subjective information.

Primary Information

• is created at the time when something occurred
• is the original research conducted in a field of study, along with the original documents that emanate from that research, e.g., lab report
• is information in its original form that has not been published anywhere else and no one has interpreted it or translated it
• Examples
  • diaries
  • novels
  • U.S. constitution
  • data and statistics that have been collected, but not analyzed
  • newspaper accounts by reporters that were at an event, e.g., a reporting in a war zone describing what s/he sees
  • transcripts from radio and TV programs and legal cases
  • testimony in a legal case
  • reporting of first research conducted in a discipline
  • original works of art

Secondary Information

• has been removed in some way from its original (primary) source and re-packaged
• is information that has been analyzed, interpreted, translated, or examined in some way
• Examples
  • You get the class notes from a friend because you missed a lecture. Your friend has, in some way, interpreted your instructor's lecture and re-packaged the information in his/her own words
  • an article that critiques a film or a novel or a football or soccer game
  • an article that analyzes someone's research
  • an interpretation of every day life as reported in a personal diary

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copyright Aline Soules 2011
under Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 United States
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/us/