Sources of Information

“where to find information”

Gathered through direct contact with other people eg face-to-face meetings telephone conversations

Disadvantages - no formal record is kept of the discussion which can lead to misinterpretation or forgotten information!

People-based sources

Paper-based sources

Most organisations have access to electronic sources of information but there are times when paper-based sources are needed.

Eg if internet access is not available

Disadvantage – information goes out of date quickly

Examples Reference books eg Whitaker’s Almanack,

Pears Cyclopaedia, Who’s Who Roget’s Thesaurus Dictionary Timetables Catalogues Leaflets Newspapers Road maps Hotel directory

For each paper-based source identify: the information contained a business use

Source Information UseWhitaker’s Almanack

Covers UK and world affairs for a particular year

Info on world events – speeches?

Pears Cyclopaedia

Info on General Knowledge topics

Background info – report?

Who’s Who

Who Was Who

Short biographies of famous people (present and deceased)

Info of people – reference in presentation?

(Roget’s) Thesaurus

Alternative words with the same meaning

Speech writing to avoid repetition eg nice!

Dictionary Spelling, meaning and pronunciation of words

Preparation of business documents eg memo

Timetable Departure and arrival times of transport eg bus, train

Arranging a business trip

Catalogues Up-to-date information on new products, equipment, etc

To purchase new items for the business

Source Information UseLeaflets General information about a

topic eg printing serviceTo provide information and contact details

Newspapers Information about current affairs

Info to aid decision making

Road Maps Routes to get from A to B Planning a route to attend a meeting

Hotel Directory Lists hotels and their facilities Finding accommodation for a business trip

TOP TIPRecent exam questions have focused

on the use of paper-based sources of information

(be able to name the source and state what it would be

used for)

Electronic (ICT) sources

Those that can be accessed using ICT equipment, eg:

CD RomDatabaseSpreadsheetsTeletext

Internet website Intranet

What information can you find in each of these

sources?

CD Rom

Database

Spreadsheet

Teletext

Similar information to reference books eg encyclopaedia. Goes out of date quickly and can be costly to replace.

Internal information including staff records, customer/supplier details, training details – can be searched/filtered to produce reports.

Internal information including dept budgets,sales records, price lists, etc – can be sorted and graphs produced

Available through TV and the Internet to givecurrent information on general topics – eg news,weather, road reports, etc.

Uses of the Internet:

advertising the organisation and its products and services

e-commerce – taking orders on-line keeping up-to-date about competitors prices and

services using e-mail to contact customers and sales reps researching and booking travel, accommodation

and car hire

If you want to use the Internet as a PS answer ALWAYS say “Internet website”

or give a specific website eg Travel Agent website

Features of a good website:

Up-to-date web pages (up-dated regularly) Easy to navigate – hyperlinks should be available

(eg www.sqa.org.uk) and a search facility is useful E-commerce should be available Contact details of the organisation including e-mail

address Easy to remember URL (website address) FAQ’s section (frequently asked questions)

Find out the meaning of the following terms:

ISP Download Search engine Hyperlink Favourites

Advantages of using the internet as a source of information

Information is usually up-to-date Using a search engine allows access to a wide

range of information – used if you don’t know the correct URL

Available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week Websites may give more detailed information

than a leaflet or brochure Information is available instantly

Problems????

Individuals can easily set up their own website – there is no guarantee the information is accurate

Websites need to be updated regularly if they are to be reliable

Sometimes internet connections or websites are unavailable

Really Useful Websites

www.google.co.uk – widely used search engine

www.bbc.co.uk– up-to-date news etc en.wikipedia.org – general interest topics

(the online encyclopaedia)

Access this website and read the “about Wikipedia”

section.

Intranet

This is an internal network used to share information within an organisation.

It can only be accessed by the organisation’s employees.

Intranet can be used for:

Up-to-date company information eg internal telephone directory

Up-to-date product information eg price lists Daily or weekly staff bulletins and notices Internal e-mail Electronic diaries Sharing software

Advantages of an intranet

The same information is available to all employees – policy documents, training packages

Information needs to be up-dated only once Standardised documents can be stored and

accessed by all employees Fewer documents are photocopied for circulation,

saving paper and costs