There are three types of information:
- Primary information which is the original or raw data; this is often referred to as your ‘source’. It is usually presented with little or no analysis. Examples of primary sources include: statistics, standards, legislation and company data.
- Secondary information usually takes raw data and analyses it and presents it in a format that is easier to read and understand. Reports, newspaper articles, textbooks are examples of secondary information.
- Tertiary information includes books and articles based on the research of others. They aim to explain research for a general audience. This may be useful as a starting point for your research but provide little substance to support your academic assessment since they tend to oversimplify, rely on too few sources and are quickly out of date.
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