Explain The Internal And External Sources Of Information. Can You Help?

The concept of internal and external information sources sounds quite complex, but in actual fact it is relatively simple.

Internal sources of information are that which come from data and statistics that belong personally to the company or entity involved. External sources of information are essentially the opposite. This is information that is collated from sources that may not be directly connected to the dealings of the person or people using it.

Let’s say for example you are the head teacher at a school. You need to prepare all the resources your school has for the next year of pupils that are due to attend. So first of all, you dive into the collection of internal information resources that you have.

This could include the current database of pupils that are already attending; helping you decide how much more or less you will need to provide for the next wave of pupils. This is internal because it belongs to you and your school.

However, you may also wish to study the information that belongs to the surrounding primary schools in the area to see how many of their pupils wish to come to your school. This is external information because it is data that does not primarily belong to you but you are using it in a way that is relevant to your needs.

Another example would be a psychologist may use questionnaires and interviews as evidence in his studies. This is internal as they have collected this information for themselves. But if they were then to refer to published journals or magazine articles in their study, they would be using external information. This is because this information has been gathered and formulated by a separate party.

Some useful data or knowledge stuff is known as information. There are various sources of information depending upon the nature and the flow of information. From the business perspective, internal sources of information in a company are those which have a direct involvement in the company and the external sources of information are the external stakeholders, which have the interest in the company. Examples of internal sources of information in a company include employees, management, internal auditors, reports of the company like newsletters, financial statements etc. On the other hand, the external sources of information for the company include news agents, government agents, advertising agencies etc.

Internal sources of information include opinions of employees, management and people in the organization. It also includes searching of information in the organization documents, newsletters, business meetings, discussions, prior research works done by some other employees in the organization, management reports, files etc. The external sources of information include websites, research papers done by qualified research analysts, critical reviews, competitors, reliable government websites which provide information and statistics about the macroeconomic or industry specific factors, articles etc. People use both sources to obtain maximum information about the issue or topic.