Facts

• Can be proven
• Are concrete
• Examples: George Washingtion was the first president of the United States.
• Located : Books, Encyclopedias, Magazines, some verifiable Web resources

Objective Information

• Should present all sides of an issue.
• Are usually based on facts.
• Often times, experts in a field can speak objectively about an issue.
• Examples:
• Located: Most encyclopedia articles.
  Many books and periodical articles, so long as they present all aspects/angles of an issue.

Primary Information

• Is created at the time when something occurred.
• Are the original documents or research conducted in a field of study.
• Is information in its original form that has not been published anywhere else and no one has interpreted it or translated it.
• Examples:
  Diaries, Novels ,Constitution of the United States.
  Data and statistics that have been collected but not analyzed.
  Newspaper accounts by reporters that were at an event. For instance, a newspaper reporter is in the middle of a war zone and is giving a description of it Transcripts from radio and television programs and legal cases.
  Testimony in a legal case. Original works of art.

• Are based on what seems to be true.
• Are based on personal views and judgment.
• Examples: The movie Gone with the Wind was the best movie ever.
• Located: Editorials, Movie Reviews, Commentaries.

Subjective Information

• Are often the opinions of an individual or group.
• Presents some kind of analysis of the facts.
• Examples: "I saw Phantom of the Opera in San Francisco last weekend and I thought that the costumes could have been better designed." This is your opinion; someone else who saw the show might have a different opinion about the costumes.     Hints: When you hear someone say, "My understanding of the situation is ..." or "I felt that the point of the story was ...", these are examples of subjective information.
  
• Book / movie reviews.Most books and periodical articles express one side of an issue and analyze it

Secondary Information

• Has been removed in some way from its original (primary) source and repackaged.
• Is information that has been analyzed, interpreted, translated or examined in some way.
• Examples:
  You get the class notes from a friend because you missed a lecture. Your friend has in some way interpreted your instructor’s lecture and repackaged the information in his own words.
  An article that critiques a work of art or a film or a novel.
  An article that analyzes someone’s research.
  An interpretation of every day life as reported in a personal diary.