Research & Resources: An Introduction

Why is the information timeline important?

By thinking about your research needs and when the most appropriate information was created, you can save yourself time in the research process. You can target where you look for that information.  This will save you time and hopefully find relevant and appropriate content.

• Example 1: If you are writing an academic paper on the evolution of military use of artificial intelligence, a book or journal article would be an appropriate source, but a blog posting might not be.  So to find a scholarly journal article, go directly to the library databases or Google Scholar. 
• Example 2: If you are looking to buy a new vehicle, a blog posting and/or a magazine review may be more appropriate than a journal article. So use Google to find a a car review website like Edmunds.com,  use a library database to access full text Consumer Reports articles, and talk to your friends about what they drive.

The chart provides suggestions on where to look for information as they relate to the Information Timeline.