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ENGL 1101 - Comp I - Jackson (Armstrong Students): Finding Relevant Sources

How Information Evolves over Time

Generally speaking, we are able to learn more detailed and accurate information about a subject as more and more time goes on.

For example, a news agency will release social media alerts about a developing event before a full news article can be written and published about the event. The social media allows the news agency to cover the story quickly and engage their audience as the story develops, but the social media may not provide a comprehensive picture of the story until an article is ready to be written and published. 

Take a look at the Information Timeline Graphic to understand how information develops over time. You can also check out this video from East Carolina University's Joyner Library!

Which source is the best fit?

Take a few moments to view the video below:

Different information formats can offer different kinds of information to suit a variety of information needs. You can use the table and/or worksheet attached below to help you decide what kind of source format will best fit a given information need. 

Try this source type...

If you need...

twitter, facebook, social media

what’s happening now

web sites, broadcast media

up-to-the-minute news

newspapers, web-based news, broadcast media

current daily information

newspapers, web-based news, broadcast media

local information

books

in-depth, thorough treatments of a topic

reference books, subject encyclopedias

background information

scholarly journals

original research on a focused topic

books

historical information

magazines, broadcast media

popular events

scholarly journals

original research

newspapers

editorials

subject encyclopedias

reliable, broad overview of topics