TIME FRAME

INFORMATION SOURCE

GOOD FOR

Current

Invisible College, Email, phone, memos, lab data sheets, conversations

No access for general audiences; what can be found becomes "historical" or "archival"

Finished research report

Unpublished papers, conference proceedings, letters to the editor

Current awareness of research projects

Completion of research - 1 year

Journal articles

Description of completed research: research methodology, findings, conclusions

6 months -

Books

Broader overview, placing research in historical, disciplinary, interdisciplinary, and other contexts

2 years-

Disciplinary Reference Books

Compilations of different viewpoints within a discipline

5 years-

General Reference Books

Places event in general context of all knowledge