The informationgathering process(1)

most successful information gathering operations require a great deal ofthought and the ability to work through each stage methodically.The process of information gathering comprises a series of steps. However,this process is an art rather than a science: the researcher may not follow all thesteps for every enquiry; guidelines can be given, but circumstances may dictatechanges in direction; the researcher will return to previous steps during thecourse of their investigations; serendipity will play a part.The  process  of  finding,  accessing,  and  handling  information  can  be  sum-marized as follows:? Analyzing the question or problem? Defining the scope of the research and what information is required? Identifying sources of that information (resource discovery)? Finding where that information is stored (resource location)? Gaining access to that information? Ensuring that the information retrieved is (a) what is required, (b) reliable(and possibly (c) current)? Managing searches and results? Keeping up to date and monitoring new developmentsWhich can be further broken down into:? analyze? define? identify/discover? locate? access? evaluate? manage? updateAlthough  summarized  numerically,  the  process  is  more  circular  than  linearfor large projects because of the heuristic nature of the work and the need tosupplement what has been found with new discoveries.