Information Literacy Modules: Information Timeline

When locating your sources, you will notice that some information is produced immediately after an event, while other types are produced later.  As you decide what types of sources are needed for your research paper, it is helpful to understand the information timeline. The information timeline, or information cycle, is the process that the information of an event goes through as it is filtered down through different source types. As the information advances further down the information timeline, the more that event is analyzed. 

Information usually starts out in the news or through social media. The initial information that is released includes quick facts and interviews about the event. As facts are revealed and discussed, the story about that event is studied in more depth and is then published in journals or books. Here is how the information timeline breaks down:

Information Timeline Graphic by adstarkel. Used under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0