It depends...
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As shown in the image above, information is created, recorded, and distributed various different mediums at different times.
The event occurs and…
Within minutes or hours - you can find info on Social media platforms – such as Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, blogs, etc.
Good for: short personal reactions, opinion, announcements
Within hours, a day – you can find info in Newspapers, news sites, TV, Radio – such as cnn.com, BBC radio, New York Times, etc.
Good for: current or local info, facts, viewpoints, breaking news
Within a week to a month – you can find info in Magazines or Trade journals – such as Time, People Magazine, Wired, Education Week, etc.
Good for: summaries of info, some analysis for general public or specific profession
Within 6 to 8 months later and continuing – you can find info in Peer-Reviewed scholarly journals - such as like Nature, Journal of American Medical Association, etc.
Good for: deep analysis of specific topics in academic research
Within 1 year later and continuing – you can find info in Books and Films – such as non-fiction, biographies, documentaries, etc.
Good for: thorough, comparative coverage of a topic history, complexity
Within 2 years later and continuing – you can find info in Reference Sources – such as encyclopedias, textbooks, atlases, manuals, etc.
Good for: broad overviews, key issues, statistics, topic specialized vocabulary
Image source: all images here created by GRC librarians
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These articles are good both for finding recent information on a topic (what has happened in the last week or month) as well as finding out how historical events were reported in the past (for example, how was the AIDS crisis first reported in the 1980s?)
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These articles are good for summarizing information on a topic for the general public. They often provide a background, summarize research findings, and provide some analysis of a topic.
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*Sometimes called Professional Journals or Industry Journals
These articles are good to keep people in a particular field of work or trade (veterinarians, police officers, hotel managers, teachers, librarians, advertisers...etc.) up-to-date on trends in their line of work. Articles often summarize and analyze findings from scholarly research.
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*Sometimes called Scholarly, Academic, Peer-reviewed or Refereed
These articles are good to find results of scientific or academic research. They are written for scholars and provide in-depth analysis of a very specific area of your topic
Images: All images in this tabbed box were taken by GRC librarians