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Sources of information - Coggle Diagram
Sources of information
Supplier Literature
A formal document such as a manual supplied with a device, can be a hard copy or a digital link
Will contain technical details, user guide and fault fixing
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Citations, Evidence and Corroboration of Sources
A citation is a method of informing readers where the third party source of information originated. Third party material may be a quote, an idea that someone else has already expressed, specific reference to the work of another author, someone else's work that has been critical in establishing ideas
A citation needs to include enough information to enable it to be located like author, title, publisher, date etc
Subjectivity
Information from only one view point. It may include assumptions or interpretations of a topic which is rarely backed up by citations or evidence. Examples would be media and blog posts as they contain opinions or conjecture
Academic Publications
Include academic papers, research journals and magazines
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Disadvantages
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As publishing usually takes over a year to publish, elements of the textbook may become out of date
E-Learning
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Advantages
Accessibility, it can be accessed anywhere
Software Development Kit
API - Application Programming Interface
IDE - Integrated Development Environment
HDK - Hardware Developer Kit
Advantages
Provides supporting material like sample software, technical notes, documentation, tutorials
Disadvantages
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They can be platform, hardware, OS specific which limits their use
White Papers
Two main types, an information document providing details of a solutions or product that an organisation sells or plan to sell and a document that present government policies and legislation to gather public reaction
The information document is the most relevant to the digital sector. The paper will provide technical and factual information that a product may solve a problem or challenge
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Intended Audience
The target a piece of work is intended for is also a key aspect when considering the reliability and validity of the source. The use therefore of technical and non-technical will be a consideration
For example if a source has been found which is below the intended audiences level of knowledge or the technical terms used are not appropriate to the context it could be unreliable or invalid
Context
If a piece of work does not fully address the context or changes its focus part way through the reliability and validity may be drawn into question, it may also make it irrelevant to you as a source of information
Reliability and Validity
Author Expertise
Author bias - A team of authors may have written a publication but using the WWW it is easy to check the institution.
Bias
Author bias - Relates to the opinions and views of the author. They could have no evident to substantiate their opinions or may have selected only those that are aligned to their own
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Selection Bias
There will be little consideration of a range of demographic groups, including their opinions and views
Cultural Bias
Views based on the assumptions of different demographic groups with little consideration for the opinions or views of the group