What is the flow of information?

Knowing when something happened will help you determine how much and what type of information may be available to you. This concept is called the flow of information.

The flow of information

How the information available about an event accumulates and evolves over time.

The flow of information, when placed on a timeline, roughly looks like this:

Information timeline showing when different publications emerge about an event.

Within the first few days of a newsworthy event, you will find information on the internet, television, and newspapers. Most of this information will come from primary sources. If you're researching a current event, you'll likely rely on primary sources.

More details about the event will emerge from secondary sources as time passes. These sources add new perspectives, commentary, and more information. Because research studies and the peer-review process take time to produce, scholarly information appears months to years after the event.

If your instructor requires you to use only peer-reviewed journal articles, you might consider selecting a less recent topic, since the peer review process requires additional time before publication.

Knowing when an event happened gives you insight into whether primary or secondary sources are available on your topic and whether these sources are popular or scholarly. Depending on your research needs, using one or the other may strengthen your project (Elder et al., 2021).

Elder, A.K., Marupova, R., Stacy-Bates, K., Stone, C.B., & Thomas, E. (2021). Library 160: Introduction to college-level research. Ames, IA: Iowa State University Digital Press. DOI:10.31274/isudp.2021.72

Review: How well do I understand the flow of information?

Click the expander tabs to view the question. Choose the answer that best fits.

Click the button for the explanation.

Question 1

Where can you find information about a newsworthy event within the first few hours of occurrence?

A. Peer-reviewed journal articles: Peer-reviewed journal articles typically take months to years to publish due to the peer-review process.
B. Secondary sources: Secondary sources provide detailed perspectives and commentary but are not the immediate source of information right after an event.
C. Primary sources: Within the first few days of an event, information is typically disseminated through primary sources such as the internet, television, and newspapers.
D. Books: Due to the publication process, books will not have the most current information immediately after an event occurs.

Question 2

As weeks pass after an event, which type of sources tend to provide more detailed perspectives and commentary?

A. Primary sources: Primary sources offer immediate accounts of an event. While they reflect the unique perspectives of those involved in an event, they lack the detail, context, and further information that other sources bring.
B. Secondary sources: Secondary sources emerge over time after an event. They offer additional perspectives, commentary, and information beyond the initial reports from primary sources.
C. Scholarly sources: Due to the research and peer-review process, scholarly articles appear months to years after an event.
D. News broadcasts: News broadcasts offer immediate accounts of the event and are considered primary sources. They may not provide the in-depth analysis found in secondary sources, such as a monthly magazine.

Question 3

Why might someone researching a current event rely on primary sources?

A. They are available immediately after an event: Primary sources are the first to report on an event and are available immediately. Depending on the recency of the event, there may be few to no secondary sources available until more time has passed.
B. They are more detailed: While primary sources are immediate, they may not be as detailed as secondary sources, which emerge later.
C. They are a compilation of the presentations and papers published after a scholarly or professional organization's conference.: Conference proceedings are a form of scholarly information that tends to be from both primary and secondary sources.

Question 4

What should you consider when selecting a topic if your research requires peer-reviewed journal articles?

A. The popularity of the topic: The popularity of a topic does not influence the requirement for peer-reviewed articles.
B. The availability of primary sources: The availability of primary sources is not directly related to the need for peer-reviewed articles.
C. The number of secondary sources: The number of secondary sources does not affect the availability of peer-reviewed articles.
D. The recency of the event: Since the peer-reviewed process takes time before publication, selecting a less recent topic may be necessary to ensure the availability of peer-reviewed journal articles.

Key takeaways

Your research assignments may draw from a variety of information formats.

Understanding the flow of information (when primary, secondary, popular, and scholarly information tends to appear on a timeline) will help you pick a topic with enough sources of information for your project.