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The Flow of Information

One to three years later...

...books treating the subject or incident are published, often within one to three years, maybe even sooner. Some topics may generate books for decades to come. This is particularly important to remember when researching topics that are not event-oriented, such as our sample topic 2. Also in this time frame published conference proceedings begin to appear.

BOOKS

Audience: Ranges from the general public to specialists.
Coverage: In-depth coverage of a topic, compilation of scholarly articles on a topic.
Written By: Specialists/scholars.
Timelines: varies (1 - 3 years plus).
Length: 150+ pages.
Content: varies from general discussion to detailed analysis; usually includes extensive bibliography.
Slant: Perspective entirely dependent on author, 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.

Early Book: Reynolds, Andrews, ed. Election '94 South Africa : The Campaigns, Results and Future Prospects. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1994.

Book: Hagemann, Albrecht. Nelson Mandela. Trans. Lucy Stratten. Johannesburg, South Africa: Fontein Books, 1996.

Conference paper in published volume of proceedings:
Mare, G. "Civil War Regions and Ethnic Mobilisation: Inkatha and Zulu Nationalism in the Transition to South African Democracy." Reconstruction in South Africa: Reaction and Renewal in South Africa. Conference. Melbourne, Australia, June 1994. Ed. P. B. Rich. Basingstoke: Macmillan Press, 1996. 25-46.

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

Book: For this type of topic, any books published on the topic above are appropriate. They are not dependent upon a timeline as much as an event topic is. One could limit the topic to either current thinking, developments during a particular time period, or both.

Recent Book: Seager, Richard Hughes. Buddhism in America. New York: Columbia University Press, 1999.

Conference proceedings: Rapaport, Al, comp; Hotchkiss, Brian D., ed. Buddhism in America: The Official Record of the Landmark Conference on the Future of Buddhist Meditative Practices in the West, Boston, January 17-19, 1997. Rutland, VT: Charles E. Tuttle, 1998.

Earlier Book: Ellwood, Robert S., ed. Zen in American Life and Letters. Malibu: Undena Publications, 1987.

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