The Flow of Information

 

PCC Library Assignment Bank
Polk Community College
 

When you are looking for information about a topic, one of the first things you should consider is where you are most likely to find the information you will need.  Where you will find information about a topic, subject, or event depends upon when that event occurred and how information about that event was recorded.  

Take a look at:

The following multiple choice questions were taken from UCLA's tutorial "Flow of Information... a Look at Linear Time and Information". 

Choose the best answer from the multiple choice options.

1. Information that is generated soon after an event occurs (radio news flash, breaking news on the TV)...

A. is always accurate and non-biased

B. usually provides in-depth analyses and expert opinions

C. provides a first attempt at who, what, where and when

 

2.  Magazine articles usually...

A. are written for scholars or experts in a specific field of study

B. are good for information on contemporary opinions, trends and reactions

C. always contain bibliographies and peer reviewed research

 

3. Journal articles usually...

A. are very useful for providing detailed analysis on specific narrowed topics

B. take a sensationalist approach in order to attract more readers

C. contain articles that rarely cite their sources 

 

4.  Pick the Sentence Below that best describes books:
A. You can always find books on your topic -- no matter what your topic is or when it occurred

B. Books are the best resource for finding the latest research on cutting edge topics

C. Books may provide in-depth coverage of a topic

 

5.  Pick the sentence that best describes encyclopedias:

A. Encyclopedias are often updated and published several times a year, making them the best resource for current hot topics.

B. An encyclopedia article may provide an overview and outline of a topic, list key persons and subtopics, and give a bibliography of related readings.

C. Only schoolchildren use encyclopedias to do research -- college students should avoid them like the plague.

Now it's time to think for yourself

Suppose you are driving along the highway and you see a plane crash on the highway right before your very eyes. 

What kind of information would you expect to receive about this event...

...as you are watching? 

...by the time you get home? 

...the next day, next week? 

...next month? 

...next year?

...in 10 years?

How might your answers change if this crash was...  an artist "performing" a work of art?  an experimental military plane?  a movie crew filming a scene?  an ADHD 12 year-old on a new medication in a stolen plane?  an elaborate hoax?

Then and Now - Time to Go to the Library...

You can locate and retrieve original accounts, reports or records of  historical events from newspapers and reports stored on microfilm, in digitalized library collections, or in rare manuscript collections.  You can locate magazine articles, journal articles, books, documentaries and encyclopedia entries on a significant historical events as time goes by. 

Follow these links to information about the Hindenberg Disaster. 
Herb Morrison's radio report: http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/vohind.htm (printed transcript)
Video clip: http://www.lakehurst.navy.mil/nlweb/hindenb.html.  

Locate and retrieve a newspaper article covering this event - May 1937.  Locate information about this event in the Encyclopedia Britannica or a historical encyclopedia.  Feel free to ask the librarian for assistance.  Compare these reports.  Consider issues of accuracy, depth, emotion, relation to other areas of study, historical context...

And just for fun... : )

Find an article from a newspaper describing an event that occurred on your birthday. 

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