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Popular vs Scholarly: Information Cycle

Comparison of popular versus scholarly articles.

What is the information cycle?

The information cycle is the progression of coverage by the media on a news worthy topic over time.

Understanding the information cycle helps us understand the type of information that will be available when we are researching a topic. 

 

 

Types of Sources

The information you find and use along the research path can also be broken into three types of sources: primary, secondary, and tertiary.

PRIMARY Sources: are the direct, uninterpreted records of a subject or event. Characteristics include first-hand observation and viewpoints of the historical time period. Representative materials include letters, diaries, first person accounts, memoirs, speeches, interviews, birth/death records, artifacts, historical records, images, photographs and some types of newspaper articles. Most frequently used by historians and archivists.

SECONDARY Sources: are works that evaluate, analyze, or interpret an historical event, generally using primary sources to do so. Characteristics include interpretation of events, usually a significant amount of time after it occurred; review or critiques. Representative materials include journal articles, editorial articles, literary criticism, book reviews, biographies, and textbooks. Most frequently used by researchers, journalists, writers.

TERTIARY Sources: are sources that identify and locate primary and secondary source materials. Characteristics include reference works, collections or lists of primary and/or secondary sources, finding aids. Representative materials include encyclopedias, indexes, abstracts, library databases and catalogs. Most frequently used as a starting point to find primary and secondary resources related to the research topic.

Information Cycle Progression

Television, Internet, and Radio

Characteristics

  • The who, what, where
  • Regularly updated
  • Provides the most up-to-date information 
  • Many formats including social media and television broadcasts 
  • Intended for general examples 
  • Little analysis or insights 

Where to find 

  • Social media (Facebook, Twitter, Blogs) 
  • Television and Radio 
  • Nexis Uni (for transcripts of television broadcasts) 

Newspapers

Characteristics

  • Timelines of the event begin to appear
  • More factual information 
  • Intended for general audiences 
  • Written primarily by journalists 
  • Provides some analysis and insights  

Where to find

Popular Magazines 

Characteristics 

  • Longer stories discuss the impact of the event 
  • More detailed analysis and interviews 
  • Are intended for general audiences 
  • Are written by a range of authors 
  • May reflect an editorial bias 

Where to find

Academic/Scholarly Journals 

Characteristics 

  • Focused and detailed analysis 
  • May include empirical research data reports 
  • May be theoretical, analyzing the impact of the event 
  • Peer-reviewed, highly credible 
  • Written using technical language 
  • Written by experts and/or scholars
  • Typically written on a very specific topic 

Where to find

Books

Characteristics 

  • In-depth coverage; range from scholarly to popular books
  • Provide factual information, overviews, and summaries
  • Can provide information for other relevant sources 
  • Can expand on existing academic research 
  • Might contain author bias 

Where to find 

Reference Materials/Government Documents

Reference Books

Characteristics 

  • Established knowledge
  • Presented in the form of broad overviews and/or summaries 
  • Written by scholars and experts on the subject 
  • Not as detailed as books or scholarly articles 

Government Documents

Characteristics 

  • Reports from federal, state, and local governments 
  • Focus on public policy, legislation, and statistical analysis
  • Mainly written for government officials 
  • Some documents can be hard to find 

Where to find