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The Flow of Information

Five to ten or more years later...

...as time passes (2 - 10 years), the knowledge and understanding of a topic or event becomes "established." It then appears in reference sources, such as encyclopedias, handbooks, statistical compilations, and more..

REFERENCE SOURCES

Audience: Ranges from general public to specialists.
Coverage: Factual information, the "Big Picture," overviews, and summaries.
Written By: Specialists/scholars.
Timelines: Depends -- articles typically appear in encyclopedias four to ten years later.
Content: convenient summaries of knowledge to date; may include data, statistics, directories, bibliographies.
Slant: supposed to present objective/neutral viewpoint; may be sponsored or published by professional associations.

Sample topics...

Sample topic 1: The election of Nelson Mandela as president of South Africa on May 9, 1994.

Geographical Area Handbook: "South Africa." Africa South of the Sahara 2000. 29th ed. London: Europa Publications, 1999.

Recent General (Online) Encyclopedia: "Mandela, Nelson." Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 2000, http://www.eb.com:180/bol/topic?eu=51717&sctn=1 (20 Mar. 2000).

Sample topic 2: Zen Buddhist meditation in contemporary American culture.

Older Subject Encyclopedia: Prebish, Charles S. "Buddhism." Encyclopedia of the American Religious Experience: Studies of Traditions and Movements. Eds. Charles H Lippy and Peter W. Williams. 3 vols. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1988.

Recent General (Online) Encyclopedia: "Buddhism." Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 2000. http://www.eb.com:180/bol/topic?eu=108292&sctn=11 (20 Mar. 2000).

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