The Information Cycle
How Events Become Part of the Historical Record
When a significant event occurs, how does it become something we read and talk about?
In the days, weeks, months, and years following the event, people from private and public organizations, as well as the general public at large will process and assimilate the information into the collective historical record.
Why does this process matter to you and your research?
- When the event occurs, decide what type of references you will use.
If, for example, you are looking up how children reacted to September 11th, you will find mostly journal articles and some books.
But if you were looking at how children reacted to the Challenger Explosion or the Bombing of Pearl Harbor, you would find more books than journal articles.
- Where your sources are located also gives you some idea about how to evaluate the information.
Breaking news may not be as accurate as a scholarly journals take on the events.
Take September 11th, immediately following the event, Fox and others were claiming that they suspected Saddam Hussien was responsible for the attacks not Al-Qaeda.
So lets look at how events are documented through time >>