Trust a secondary source**
You want an overview of a particular knowledge domain.
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An overwhelming amount of information of variable quality is available on the internet. It is difficult to discern the relevant from the non-relevant.
An even greater proportion of the web is invisible to conventional search engines. Bergman (2001) estimates that the deep web is as much as 400 to 550 times larger than the World Wide Web as it is commonly defined.
You may miss key themes, or a significant author in a particular domain.
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Therefore, make use of secondary sources.
Secondary sources act as knowledgeable intermediaries between you the overwhelming profusion of available information. Search for overviews that 1) are related to the topic you are interested in, 2) synthesize the results of what is and is not known, 3) identify areas of controversy, and 4) formulate questions for further research.
To some extent you are placing your trust in someone else’s judgment, which raises the question of their reliability.
Interpretations from other sources is not always the best way to learn. Only you know what you are looking for, and sometimes important information may otherwise be lost or distorted by the intermediary. In these cases, there is no substitute for reading the full original document or data set.
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Literature reviews critically analyze a segment of published works relevant to a particular issue, area of research, or theory, and provide a description, summary, and critical evaluation of each work.
The first section of most research articles is usually devoted to a review of the previously published literature on the topic addressed in the article. A specific type of serial known as an annual review is devoted solely to the publication of literature reviews.
An annotated bibliography includes brief notes with each reference or citation, and cam help you evaluate whether a source is relevant to a specific line of inquiry.
Lifelong Learning design pattern map. Click to enlarge.
The “trust a sceondary source” pattern was originally published April 25th, 2005 on The Common Loon.
25 Apr 2005
