THE INFORMATION TIMELINE

Source: Freepik
To find and use information effectively, you first need to know how it is created.

​The information timeline helps with this by showing how information about an event or topic develops over time.

​Understanding this timeline will help you choose the best sources for accurate information.
WHAT IS THE INFORMATION TIMELINE?
The information timeline, or information cycle, describes how information about an event changes as it moves through different sources.

It can you help you to decide the best source of information for your task.
Krueger Library - Winona State University. (2020, February 19). The information cycle. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZSmf4QrFlk
WHICH SOURCE WILL BE THE BEST FOR WHAT I NEED?
SOCIAL MEDIA
  • Breaking information
  • Can be inaccurate, incomplete, biased, and highly emotional
NEWS
  • More detailed and factual reporting
  • Quotes from experts, statistics, and/or photographs
  • Written by journalists for general audience (not scholarly)
  • Opinion pieces begin to appear 
WEEKLY MAGAZINES
  • More detailed reporting including interviews, opinions, and analysis
  • Authors are diverse: professional journalists, commentators, scholars, or experts in the field
  • Factual information BUT can have bias reflecting the publication
SCHOLARLY JOURNALS
  • Detailed analysis backed by evidence-based research
  • Peer-reviewed which helps ensure accuracy and quality
  • Detailed bibliographies
  • Written by experts and scholars in the field
  • Written for a specific audience (scholars) - can be difficult to understand because of discipline-specific language or jargon
BOOKS
  • In-depth coverage often providing comprehensive overviews of topic
  • Detailed bibliographies
  • May have bias as authors' credentials and authority can vary 
  • Can be scholarly (detailed analysis) or popular (general discussion)
Source: Lousiana State University
Information Timeline by adstarkel, used under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.