Research Guides: Getting Started: Information Research Tips: Flow of Information

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 Event	Time Frame	Where to Look	Written by	Audience
News (Internet / TV / Radio Services)	Seconds/Minutes	Websites TV news indexes	Journalists	General public
Newspapers (print)	Day / Days+	Online newspaper websites Newspaper indexes	Professional journalists	General public
Magazines (print)	Week / Weeks	Periodical indexes Library catalog	Professional journalists, poets, writers of fiction, and essayists	General public to knowledgeable layperson
Journals (print) Electronic Journals	6 months + 3 months +	Library catalog Article database Journal website Google Scholar	Specialists in the field, usually scholars with PhDs	Scholars, specialists, and students
Books	2 years +	Library catalog	Specialists/scholars	General public to specialists
E-books, Digitized Books	2 years +	Library catalog Digital collections	Specialists/scholars	General public to specialists
Reference Sources	Average 10 years	Library catalog	Specialists/scholars	General public to specialists
Web Pages	Seconds/minutes to years	Web search tools	Anyone	General public to Specialists

A Look at Linear Time and Information:

from the occurrence of an event, era, social movement or discovery
to the documentation of evidence relating to this event, era, social movement, etc.
to how the evidence is disseminated
and how researchers (and term paper writers) can find this documentation

The mission of the UCLA Library is to provide access to and delivery of information resources to UCLA students, faculty, and staff in support of the research and instructional mission of the university. Relying on its highly skilled staff, the Library encourages innovation, capitalizes on appropriate technologies, forges effective partnerships and aggressively promotes excellence.