Gathering Information

 Imagine that you and your friends want to go away for a week next school holidays. A friend’s mother has said she will take you provided that you and your friends make all the arrangements. In groups brainstorm the type of information you need in to make the arrangements and where you will find this information.

 Where do you want to go?  How will you find a place to stay?  What facilities are you looking for in the place you chose?  How is the place different to other places?  How long will it take to get there?  Can you drive or do you have to fly?  If you have to fly what other information do you need to get?

The main sources of information include:  Books  Journal/ magazines  TV/ Radio  Encyclopedia’s  Interviews  Internet

Information gathered must be selected on the basis of the following: RelevanceValidity

 Refers to the USEFULNESS of the types of information needed to answer your questions.  Eg: if you need information about immigration you need to go to the immigration office  E.g. If you need information to organise a trip you can find USEFUL information in a brochure from a travel agent or on the Internet.

 What information do I need?  How long will it take me to gather this information?  Who is most likely to have the information I require?  If necessary, how do I make a request for the information?

 Validity – refers to information gathered being ACCURATE and RELIABLE Eg: Information on the Internet: how do we know which information is correct or incorrect?

1. Who provided the information? 2. Can the author of the website be contacted? 3. Can you check the validity of the information somewhere else. 4. Is the source reliable 5. When was the website last updated.

DisadvantagesAdvantages  Complex to get information needed  more time consuming  Too much information collected makes it hard to make decisions.  Some information may not be reliable – eg from internet  Broad range of information  You can check information is up to date by comparing to other sources  No need to rely on one source – you get different perspectives  You may get access or link to other information

AdvantagesDisadvantages  Easy to get information needed  Less time consuming  Narrows down source of information  Provides expert knowledge on the area /subject researched  Information may not be accurate and you have no other sources to compare it to.  Information may not be up to date.  Must rely on that information

 1. Go to the following websites: al Jazeera.com and ask.com and compare the validity of the 2 websites. Which one is more likely to have reliable and valid information? Why?  2. Consider the trip you planned with a friend. Analyse the nature of the information you used by completing the worksheet TRIP ANALYSIS (on Moodle)