Composition II (ENGL 1213): Information Cycle

Source: University Library at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

See a video explaining the information cycle (from University of Illinois)

The Day of an Event  :  Television, The Internet, and Radio

The information:

• Is primarily provided through up-to-the-minute resources like broadcast news, Internet news sites, and news radio programs.
• Is quick, generally not detailed, and regularly updated.
• Explains the who, what, when, and where of an event.
• Can, on occassion, be inaccurate.
• Is written by authors who are primarily journalists.
• Is intended for a general audience.

The Day After an Event : Newspapers

The information:

• Is longer as newspaper articles begin to apply a chronology to an event and explain why the event occurred.
• Is more factual and provides a deeper investigation into the immediate context of events.
• Includes quotes from government officials and experts.
• May include statistics, photographs, and editorial coverage.
• Can include local perspectives on a story.
• Is written by authors who are primarily journalists.
• Is intended for a general audience.

 The Week of or Weeks After an Event:  Weekly Popular Magazines and News Magazines

The information:

• Is contained in long form stories. Weekly magazines begin to discuss the impact of an event on society, culture, and public policy.
• Includes detailed analysis of events, interviews, as well as opinions and analysis.
• Offers perspectives on an event from particular groups or geared towards specific audiences.
• While often factual, information can reflect the editorial bias of a publication.
• Is written by a range of authors, from professional journalists, to essayists, to commentary by scholars or experts in the field.
• Is intended for a general audience or specific nonprofessional groups.

Six Months to a Year After an Event and On...   : Academic Journals

The information:

• Includes detailed analysis, empirical research reports, and learned commentary related to the event.
• Is often theoretical, carefully analyzing the impact of the event on society, culture, and public policy.
• Is peer-reviewed. This editorial process ensures high credibility and accuracy.
• Often narrow in topic.
• Written in a highly technical language.
• Includes detailed bibliographies.
• Is authored by scholars, researchers, and professionals, often with Ph.D's.
• Is intended for other scholars, researchers, professionals, and university students in the field.

A Year to Years After an Event and On...

Books

The information:

• Provides in-depth coverage of an event, often expanding and detailing themes, subjects, and analysis begun in academic research and published in journals.
• Often places an event into some sort of historical context.
• Can provide broad overviews of an event.
• Can range from scholarly in-depth analysis of a topic, to popular books which provide general discussions and are not as well-researched.
• Might have a bias or slant, but this dependent on the author.
• Includes bibliographies.
• Is often written by scholars, specialists, researchers, and professionals, though credentials of authors vary.
• Can be intended for a broad audience depending on the book, ranging from scholars to a general audience.

Government Reports

The information:

• Comes from all levels of government from state, federal, and international governments
• Includes reports compiled by governmental organizations and summaries of government-funded research
• Is factual, often including statistical analysis
• Often focuses on an event in relation to public policy and legislation
• Authored by governmental panels, organizations, and committees
• Is intended for all audiences.

Reference Material

The information:

• Is considered established knowledge.
• Is published years after an event takes place, in encyclopedias, dictionaries, textbooks, and handbooks.
• Includes factual information, often in the form of overviews and summaries of an event.
• May include statistics and bibliographies.
• Often not as detailed as books or journal articles.
• Authored by scholars and specialists.
• Often intended for a general audience, but may be of use to researchers, scholars or professionals.