# Welcome to SMIRK Unit
3 - What is information
and why do we need it?

- Why we need information
- What is information?
- Information timeline
- Summary
- Back to main index

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SMIRK by Imperial College, Loughborough University and the University of Worcester, modified by Marion Kelt Glasgow Caledonian University is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Based on a work at http://www.gcu.ac.uk/library/SMILE/

# Why we need
information

You need information because it empowers you!

Information allows:

- intellectual development which leads to academic credibility
- the development of subject knowledge leading to an ability to discuss your subject with authority
- an ability to meet the research requirements of your course
- attainment of higher marks in your assignment

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SMIRK by Imperial College, Loughborough University and the University of Worcester, modified by Marion Kelt Glasgow Caledonian University is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Based on a work at http://www.gcu.ac.uk/library/SMILE/

# What is information?

Information is knowledge about a particular subject, issue, event or process. Information can be attained from various sources: you can be told information, for example through a lecture or a television programme, or you can find information through your own research.

Information is essential to finding your route to university in the morning, writing an essay, getting the right ingredients for a recipe, conducting an experiment, renting a flat, filling in a job application form, exam revision and for many, many other everyday and not-so-everyday tasks.

For each task you need a different type of information, and to find the most useful and relevant information you have to understand:

- what information is
- why you need the information
- what are the different types of information available
- where to look for information

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SMIRK by Imperial College, Loughborough University and the University of Worcester, modified by Marion Kelt Glasgow Caledonian University is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Based on a work at http://www.gcu.ac.uk/library/SMILE/

# Information timeline

Information is created - here is how it is generated and used.

Hours to days
Information about a current event or idea is distributed through mass media such as newspapers, websites, television, and radio.

- ###### BBC (Tuesday 11th September 2001) US rocked by terror attacks. [Online] Available from: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/1537469.stm [Accessed 13th March 2007]

Days to weeks to months
As more information is collected, documentaries may be made, or articles published in popular press and online, such as in magazines aimed at the general public.

- ###### Lacayo, R. (2002) The battle for Ground Zero. Time. [Online] 159 (21), 36. Available from: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1002501,00.html
  [Accessed 13th March 2007]

Months
Significant events and ideas may be further explored in scholarly publications such as research journals, or discussed at conferences.

- ###### Newland, D.E. and Cebon, D. (2002) Could the World Trade Center have been modified to prevent its collapse? Journal of Engineering Mechanics. 128 (7) pp. 795-800

- ###### Tamaro, G.J. (2002) Recovery efforts at the World Trade Center “Bathtub”, In: 9thInternational Conference on Piling and Deep Foundations, Nice, June 2002, pp. 689-694. Hawthorne, NJ, Deep Foundations Institute.

Years
Discussion and analysis of events and ideas may be published in a book several years after their happening.

- ###### Sorkin, M. & Zukin, S., eds. (2002) After the World Trade Center: rethinking New York City. New York, Routledge.

- ###### Meyerowitz, J. (2006) Aftermath: World Trade Centre archive. London, Phaidon Press.

Years and years
A summary of an event, including its background and aftermath, and pertinent facts, may be published in reference material, such as an encyclopaedia.

- ###### Oxford Scholarship Online

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SMIRK by Imperial College, Loughborough University and the University of Worcester, modified by Marion Kelt Glasgow Caledonian University is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Based on a work at http://www.gcu.ac.uk/library/SMILE/

# Summary

Now you know what information is and why you need it. You should also have a clearer picture of how it is created and develops over time.

This knowledge will help you to gather and manipulate information to further your research.

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SMIRK by Imperial College, Loughborough University and the University of Worcester, modified by Marion Kelt Glasgow Caledonian University is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Based on a work at http://www.gcu.ac.uk/library/SMILE/