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- Collection Methods for Intelligence InformationCategorized by the way information is collected.
- Documentation Intelligence (DOCINT)
Collection and analysis of published documentation or data, or the commissioning of research necessary to create such documentation. Makes use of existing information infrastructures and tendency of people and societies for self-revelation.
- Signals Intelligence (SIGINT)
Collection and analysis of transmitted signals (including images), either overtly or covertly, using remote sensors including satellites, airborne sensors, fixed antenna arrays, wiretaps, and so on.
- Human Intelligence (HUMINT)
Collection of data, including non-public documentation, by people on the ground in places of interest, either overtly or covertly.
- Operations (OPS)
Active intervention (typically by human agents) and manipulation in the places and systems of interest to improve the opportunity for intelligence-gathering and/or a positive political outcome.
- Analysis (ANALYSIS)
Processing of raw intelligence data to make data intelligible, to extract important items and to discard irrelevant ones, to assess the value and validity of the intelligence, and to identify and exploit correlations and patterns among the disparate intelligence available — to transform data into information.