Purpose of information:

A researcher needs information for three purposes. 

To keep up with new developments in his area of interest; 

To get acquainted with the state-of -the-art of the subject; 

To gather specific pieces of data and information needed at different stages of his wo

Keeping up with current developments is one of the key factors for success in the career of a researcher. This activity not only updates his knowledge but also stimulates his thought process and often may suggest new ideas and methods of experiments. Before a researcher decides on a new project, he needs to undertake a thorough literature search, i.e., he examines the various documents containing information on the topic. He does this to: get acquainted with the state of knowledge in the area (i.e., state-of-art); identify whether there are shortcomings and gaps in the existing knowledge and thus to assess further scope of work in the area; and avoid the possible duplication of work and thus to save time, effort and money. Even while conducting research, he might need some data on, say, properties of a chemical compound, production of acommodity or information about a technique.