About

What is Open Source? Open source information generally falls into four categories: widely available data and information; targeted commercial data; individual exerts; and “gray” literature, which consists of written information produced by the private sector, government, and academe that has limited availability, either because few copies are produced, existence of the material is largely unknown, or access to information is constrained. Within these four categories, open source information can include: Media such as newspaper, magazines, radio, television, and computer-based information; Public data such as government reports, and official data such as budgets and demographics, hearings, legislative debates, press conferences, and speeches; Information derived from professional and academic sources such as conferences, symposia, professional associations, academic papers, dissertations and theses, and experts; Commercial data such as commercial imagery; and, Gray literature such as trip reports, working papers, discussion papers, unofficial government documents, proceedings, preprints, research reports, studies, and market surveys.

What is Open Source?

Open source information generally falls into four categories: widely available data and information; targeted commercial data; individual exerts; and “gray” literature, which consists of written information produced by the private sector, government, and academe that has limited availability, either because few copies are produced, existence of the material is largely unknown, or access to information is constrained. Within these four categories, open source information can include:

Media such as newspaper, magazines, radio, television, and computer-based information;
Public data such as government reports, and official data such as budgets and demographics, hearings, legislative debates, press conferences, and speeches;
Information derived from professional and academic sources such as conferences, symposia, professional associations, academic papers, dissertations and theses, and experts;
Commercial data such as commercial imagery; and,
Gray literature such as trip reports, working papers, discussion papers, unofficial government documents, proceedings, preprints, research reports, studies, and market surveys.