Research the Smart Way: a. Information needs & sources

• Information is written for different purposes - to inform, to persuade, to instruct, to entertain, etc. What is the purpose of your research paper?
• Information is written for different types of audiences - general, popular, juvenile, scholarly, professional.
• Information is presented in different formats.

Before starting your research, it's good to know how information is produced, where it comes from, and how it changes over time. The Information Cycle is the progression of media coverage of a particular newsworthy event.  Knowing about the information cycle will help you to better know what information is available on your topic and better evaluate information sources covering that topic.

Created by University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Libraries -  Standard YouTube License