Information Literacy Instructional Program

Information Literacy Learning Guides

Types of Information - Publishing Storing and Accessing information

 

There are several ways information can be published, stored and accessed. They include : Web, newspapers, magazines, journals, and books. Each type of information may be more appropriate for different types of research.

Immediate
Daily
Weekly
Monthly
Yearly
  
Web Information
Newspapers
Popular Magazines
 Scholarly Journals
Reference Materials/
 Books
  • Published instantaneously
  • Anyone can publish on the Web
  • Interactive and multimedia

 
  • Published Daily
  • Regional & National
  • Covers everything from sports to finance

 
  • Weekly information & newscovers news, current events
  • targeted general public
  • Covers the Who, What Where, How
  • Specialized interests

 
  • Typically published quarterlyWritten by experts in the field
  • Studies, research
  • usually include footnotes & bibliographies

 
  • Usually published yearly
  • General overview
  • Short precise amounts of information

 
  • Often takes more than a year to publish
  • On every topic
  • General interest & very specific interest

 
Advantages Advantages Advantages Advantages Advantages Advantages

 

  • Immediate distribution of information
  • Multi-media
  • No 'costs' to publish
  • ability to share information
  • searchability
  • link to other document

 

  • Timely coverage -daily
  • Permanent record
  • Flexibility
  • Geographically selective

 

 

  • Good quality
  • Physical document
  • "Browsable'
  • Permanent
  • Briefer and easier to read than scholarly journals or entire books

 

  • Referred, peer reviewed
  • very few advertisement
  • very current research

 

 

  • Short, concise introduction to subjects
  • Overall view
  • Written by experts in the field

 

  • Portable, can be held in your hand to read
  • Permanent record

 
Disadvantages Disadvantages Disadvantages Disadvantages Disadvantages Disadvantages

 

  • Hard to distinguish 'valid information
  • Hard to locate specific information
  • documents go away - not permanent

 

 

  • Short lifespan
  • take up a lot of space
  • Hard to search to information

 

 

 

  • Costs money
  • Limited reach and frequency
  • Long lead time

 

 

  • Technical language, more complicated
  • Can be very expensive

 

 

  • Can be expensive
  • Need to be purchased often

 

 

  • Single point of access
  • Can be expensive
  • Storage

 

What are some of the other advantages and disadvantages?

Debbie Anderson, librarian
Estrella Mountain Community College  
2001 - 2002
 
 Last Updated: 8/2/04