Flow of Information
The flow of information is a conceptual timeline of how information is created, disseminated, and found. Information is dispersed through a variety of channels. Depending on the type of information, the time it takes to reach its audience could range from seconds to minutes, days to weeks, or months to years. Knowing how information flows helps you understand what types of information you need and how to search and obtain the targeted information.
| Report of Experiment or Phenomena | Time Frame | Review Process | Where to Look | Written by | Audience |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| News (Internet / TV / Radio Services / Newspapers) | Seconds/Minutes | No formal peer-review process | Websites TV news newspapers |
Journalists | General public |
| Magazines (print and online) | Days / Weeks | No formal peer-review process | Article Databases Library catalog |
Professional journalists, science writers | General public to knowledgeable layperson |
| Conference Proceedings | Presented immediately, sometimes published 1-2 years later | Possible peer-review |
Article Databases |
Specialists in the field, usually scientists or engineers with PhDs, graduate students, post-docs | Scholars, specialists, and grad students |
| Journal articles (print and electronic) |
Average 3-9 months | Formal peer-review process | Library catalog Article databases Journal website Google Scholar |
Specialists in the field, usually scientists or engineers with PhDs, graduate students, post-docs | Scholars, specialists, and students |
| Review articles | Average 1-2 years | Formal peer-review process |
Article databases |
Specialists in the field, usually scientists or engineers with PhDs, graduate students, post-docs | Scholars, specialists, and students |
| Technical Reports and Government Documents | Months to years | No formal peer-review process |
Technical report databases |
Specialists in the field, usually scientists or engineers with PhDs, graduate students, post-docs | Audience varies depending on document or report |
| Books, E-books | Average 1-3 years | Editorial process, not peer-review |
Library catalog |
Specialists in the field, usually scientists or engineers with PhDs | General public to specialists |
| Reference Sources, Encyclopedias | Average 10 years | Editorial process, not peer-review |
Library catalog |
Specialists in the field, usually scientists or engineers with PhDs | General public to specialists |
| Websites and Blogs | Seconds/minutes to years | none | Web search tools | Anyone | General public to Specialists |
Peer Review
Evaluating Information
When evaluating a resource for credibility and appropriateness, consider these questions.
- Who is the author(s)?
- When was the source published? How current is the information?
- Is the information directly applicable to the situation at hand?
- If not, how close is it to the current situation?
- What underlying assumptions have been made in the data?
- Is there any reason to suspect bias of any sort in this data source?
- How good is the evidence given by (or cited) in the source?
- Is there any potential conflict of interest?
- Is any significant data omitted?
- Are there any other data sources which should be consulted?
- Are there conflicting potential causes for the event?
- Are there any fallacies in the reasoning?
- What reasonable conclusions are possible?
Levels of Evidence
