ENG101 English: Information Cycle

Day of an Event

Information Sources: Social Media, Television, Radio & Internet

• Offers “Breaking News” that is quick, not detailed, and will be regularly updated. These sources will explain the who, what, and where of the event but the information may be incomplete, false, or biased.
• Authors are journalists, bloggers, social media participants
• Language is non-technical and intended for general audiences
• Examples include Twitter, Facebooks, CNN, blogs, text messages

Days After an Event

Information Sources: Newspapers, Television & Other News Media

• Offers a deeper investigation into the immediate timeline, context of the event, and why it occurred. Sources provide more factual information, which may include quotes from experts and/or government officials, statistics, and photographs. Information may also include opinion pieces, editorials, and local perspectives.
• Authors are primarily journalists
• Language is non-technical and intended for general audiences
• Citations are rare but quotes and facts are usually attributed in text
• Examples include Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, CNN, Slate

Weeks and Months After an Event

Information Sources: Weekly and Monthly Popular Magazines

• Offers a more detailed analyses, interviews, editorials, and various perspectives emerge. Sources discuss the impact on society, culture, economy, public policy, etc. Information may reflect the publication’s general editorial bias.
• Authors are journalists, essayists, scholarly or expert commentary
• Language is non-technical and intended for general audiences or specific nonprofessional groups
• Citations are rare but quotes and facts are usually attributed in text
• Examples include Time, National Geographic, The Nation

Six Months to Years After an Event

Information Sources: Scholarly Journals, Books, Government Reports, And Reference Works

• Scholarly Journals offer focused and detailed analysis as well as theoretical and empirical research based on the event. Information is peer-reviewed, ensuring high credibility and accuracy.
  • Authors are scholars, researchers, and professionals
  • Language is academic and very technical and intended for scholars, researchers, and university students
• Scholarly books provide comprehensive coverage of an event, placing it in its historical context, and may provide different perspectives of the event.
  • Authors are scholars, professionals, and journalists
  • Intended audience ranges from general audience to scholars
  • Language is academic and very technical and intended for scholars, researchers, and university students
• Government Reports come from all levels of government (federal, state, and local) and provide the government's official viewpoint on the event, reports compiled by governmental organizations, and summaries of government-funded research. Information is often focused on public policy, legislation, and statistical analysis related to the event.
  • Authors are governmental panels, organizations, and committees
  • Intended audience ranges from general audience to other government officials
• Reference works provide a quick overview on the event and outlines the key issues.
  • Authors are scholars and specialists
  • Language is non-technical and intended for general audiences, students, and scholars
  • Examples include Encyclopedia Britannica, Oxford Dictionary of Political Science

Information takes time to travel. Some resources like the Internet, TV, Radio, and Newspaper get information out quickly. The limitation with these resources is that they usually offer limited information and are prone to errors and misinformation. If you're looking for academic research, that takes time. Authors have to gather their facts, write their article or book, find a publisher, get it proofread, edit if needed, etc. While the disadvantage of these resources is how long after the fact they take to write, the advantage is that these usually offer more detailed information.

How this affects you:

Scenario 1: Let's say you're doing a paper on an event that happened in the last 10 months. If you understand the information cycle, you should already know that your topic won't be found in a book or a reference book. If you know that, you won't waste time looking for a book that doesn't exist - you'll go straight to the other resources. 

Scenario 2: Let's say you're writing a paper on nursing. Your subject has been around for years, so you know you can use any type of resource. However, this is also a topic that is constantly changing. If you only use books that means you're only using information that is year old or older. If you want to make sure you have the historical as well as the newest research, you will need to use at least both journals and books. 

Scenario 3: Let's say you're working on a history paper and you know that you can use any type of resource. However, your topic is something that used to be popular, but not so much anymore. What does this tell you? This tells you that there might not be that much recent research done on your topic and you might find most of your information in books or older journals.