Information ecology: the who, how, and what and why it even matters!

Everyone produces some kinds of information. The information we use in college classes may come from books, scholarly journals, magazines, newspapers, web sites, e-mail messages, radio transcripts, and many other sources. So, how do you decide where to look for appropriate resources? And how do you fit into the information environment?

Here are a few rules of thumb:

Web sites have no elapsed time from writer to reader. If you need to know about something happening right now, trusted web sites are your first choice. Newspapers, radio and TV stations, and some public services update their web sites as quickly as they can check information. Remember that nobody controls what is posted on the Web; use evaluation tools and good judgment to select the best sites.

Newspapers publish stories within hours of an important event; they often include a bit of background information to help readers understand the current incident. Most newspapers focus on a specific city, which makes newspaper articles excellent sources for local information.

Magazines are published on various schedules – weekly and monthly are the most common. Most magazines focus on a specific topic; if your research topic is very specific a specialized magazine may be an ideal source. An article for a magazine's December issue may be due in July, so magazines are usually not the best source for the latest news.

Journals are the most important resources for scholars, scientists, researchers, and health care professionals. They look like magazines (usually the covers aren't as attractive) but they serve a very different purpose. Many journals use a process called “peer review” to select articles: if I write an article on my research and submit it to a journal, and if they think it's suitable and interesting, they'll make copies and ask several researchers in the same field to read it. That way, if I left out anything important or if my results don't add up, experts can catch the errors. Journals have very specific topics and are often written in technical language.

Books – bet you thought I forgot about books! Books are ideal when you need to understand the history or development of a situation. I've heard one author say that her books took 18 months to go through the publishing process – that is, 18 months after they were written. Books are best for the kind of information that doesn't change quickly, for collecting related information in one handy spot, and for helping you understand changes over time.

Where do you fit?

You should always ask a few mental questions as you read for information – Who wrote this? Why? How does the author know this? What does the author want me to do?

In your own writing for college classes, it's especially important to answer the third question – How do I know? -- by citing your sources. All journal articles, most nonfiction books, and a growing number of magazines, include lists of works cited. When you show where your information came from, you do three things. You give credit where it is due, you strengthen your argument by showing it is based on respected sources, and you make it possible for your reader to find more information about your topic.

Your textbook should show you how to cite common sources. Check out the library's citation guide for more examples and help with unusual situations.

Whew! That was a long post – thanks for sticking with us! Next week, we'd like to try something different. We've been posting information and resources we hope you'll find useful. Now, it's your turn to tell us what you'd like to know! Please send questions and comments to: robin.shapiro@pcc.edu, and we'll answer as many as we can next Monday.

See you next week! Sheila and Robin, Fusion Librarians