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Publisher Information
1.1 EQ vs IQ
1.2 Attributes Employers Desire
1.3 Team Membership Skills
1.4 Values for Success
1.5 Resources
2.1 Information for Messages
2.2 The Information Strategy Process
2.3 Information Tasks of Communication Professionals
2.4 News Messages
2.8 Resources
2.5 Advertising Messages
2.6 Public Relations Messages
2.7 Storytelling and the Information Strategy
3.1 Understanding the Gatekeeper Audience
3.2 Assignment Clarification
3.3 Message Purpose
3.4 Time / Space
3.5 Formats / Channels
3.6 Resources
4.1 Types of Audiences
4.2 Gatekeepers
4.3 Colleagues and Professionals
4.4 Target Audience
4.5 Audience Segments: Demographics
4.6 Audience Segments: Geographics
4.7 Audience Segments: Psychographics
4.8 Combining Segment Data
4.9 News
4.10 Advertising
4.11 Public Relations
4.12 Who's the Audience for News?
4.13 Who's the Audience for Advertising?
4.14 Who's the Audience for Public Relations?
4.15 Summary / Resources
5.1 What's the Angle?
5.2 News Angle
5.3 Strategic Communication Angle
5.4 Key Questions to Answer
5.5 Idea Generation
5.6 Observation for Idea Generation
5.7 Types of Observation: Routine
5.8 Types of Observation: Participant
5.9 Types of Observation: Unobtrusive
5.10 Types of Observation: Social Listening
5.11 Narrowing the Focus
5.12 Conventional Wisdom
5.13 Conclusion/Endnotes
6.1 Institutional Sources
6.2 Public Sector Institutions
6.3 Private Sector Institutions
6.4 Scholarly Sources
6.5 Journalistic Sources
6.6 Informal Sources
6.7 Disciplines of Knowledge
6.8 The Library as Contributor
6.9 Types of Libraries: Public
6.10 Types of Libraries: Academic
6.11 Types of Libraries: Special
6.12 Types of Libraries: Archives
6.13 Types of Libraries: Media
6.14 The Library in the Process
7.1 Social Responsibility
7.2 Analyzing Ethical and Legal Considerations – Overview
7.3 Obligations in News
7.4 Obligations in Advertising
7.5 Obligations in Public Relations
7.6 Levels of Social Responsibility
7.7 The Societal Perspective
7.8 Professional and Organizational Perspective - Journalism
7.9 Professional and Organizational Perspective - Advertising
7.10 Professional and Organizational Perspective - Public Relations
7.11 Individual Perspective
7.12 Legal Considerations - Journalism
7.13 Legal Considerations - Advertising
7.14 Legal Considerations - Public Relations
7.15 Social Responsibility and the Information Strategy
7.16 Endnotes / Resources
8.1 Getting Started on Your Information Strategy
8.2 One-step / Two-step Research
8.3 One-step Research Tools
8.4 Two-step Research Tools
8.5 Basics of Searching on the Web
8.6 The Deep Web
8.7 The "Disappeared" Web
8.8 Key Words and Subject Headings
8.9 Search Logic and Boolean Connectors
8.10 Searching Fields
8.11 Contributors of Information and Database Searching
8.12 Tracking Your Search
8.13 Resources/Endnotes
9.1 Interviewing as a Research Skill
9.2 Purposes of the Interview
9.3 Purposes / Information Gathering
9.4 Human Interest
9.5 Corroborative
9.6 Investigative
9.7 Opinion Seeking
9.8 Methods: Face-to-Face
9.9 Methods: Telephone
9.10 Methods: Digital
9.11 Methods: Focus Group
9.12 Methods: News Conference
9.13 Preparing for an Interview
9.14 Information Contributors as Interviewees
9.15 Public Sector Contributors
9.16 Private Sector Contributors
9.17 Scholarly Contributors
9.18 Journalist Contributors
9.19 Informal Contributors
9.20 Evaluating Interviewees
9.21 Planning Interviews
9.22 Interview Questions
9.23 Contract with the Interviewee
9.24 Recording the Interview
9.25 Some Interviewing Cautions
10.1 Thinking Critically about Information
10.2 Tests of Evidence
10.3 Evaluating Observations
10.4 Evaluating Visual Information
10.5 Evaluating Websites
10.6 Stop that Rumor
10.7 Evaluating Information Subsidies
10.8 Endnotes/Resources
11.1 Synthesizing the Information
11.2 What Have You Found?
11.3 Finding the Focus
11.4 Fitting Things Together
11.5 What Synthesis Helps You Do
11.6 Examples of Synthesis
11.7 Plagiarism
11.8 Endnotes / Resources
12.1 Publications from Contributors
12.2 Public-Sector Institutions
12.3 Private-Sector Institutions
12.4 Scholarly Sources
12.5 Journalistic Sources
12.6 Informal Sources
12.7 Popular, Scholarly, Trade Periodicals
12.8 Popular Periodicals (aka "magazines")
12.9 Scholarly Periodicals (aka "Journals")
12.10 Trade Periodicals
12.11 Grey Areas
13.1 Public Records and Information Contributors
13.2 Nature of Public Record Information
13.3 Types of Public Records
13.4 Public Records about Individuals
13.5 Public Records Laws
13.6 What You Can Request
13.7 Open Meetings
13.8 Privacy and Public Records
13.9 Court Records and Legal Information
13.10 Locating Public Records Information
13.11 Evaluating Public Record Information
14.1 Big Data
14.2 Public-Sector Institutions' Data
14.3 Private-Sector Institutions' Data
14.4 Sources of Audience Data
14.5 Broadcast Audience Data
14.6 Media Analysis Data
14.7 Audience Analytics Data
14.8 Data from Media Kits
14.9 Consumer Data from Private-Sector Sources
14.10 Data from Scholarly Sources
14.11 Data from Journalistic Sources
14.12 Data about Journalistic Audience
14.13 Data from Informal Sources
14.14 Numeracy Skills
14.15 Applied Statistics
14.16 Using Statistical Data
14.17 Evaluating Data
14.18 Endnotes
15.1 Surveys and Information Contributors
15.2 Survey Definition
15.3 How are Surveys Used?
15.4 Searching for Survey Data
15.5 Survey Sample Types: Non-Probability
15.6 Survey Sample Types: Probability
15.7 Sample Size
15.8 Wording of Survey Questions
15.9 Question Order in Surveys
15.10 Survey Interview Types
15.11 Face-to-Face
15.12 Telephone
15.13 Self-Administered
15.14 Interpreting Survey Data
15.15 Cautions for Careful Communicators
15.16 Endnotes
16.1 Putting It All Together
16.2 Freelance Magazine Scenario
16.3 Journalism: Clarify Message Task
16.4 Journalism: Identify Audience
16.5 Journalism: Narrow Focus / Brainstorm Ideas
16.6 Journalism: Locate Information from Sources
16.7 Crisis Communications Scenario
16.8 PR: Clarify Message Task
16.9 PR: Identify Audience
16.10 PR: Narrow Focus / Brainstorm Ideas
16.11 PR: Locate Information from Sources
16.12 PR: Synthesize the Information
16.13 New Advertising Pitch Scenario
16.14 Advertising: Locate Information from Sources
16.15 Advertising: Synthesize the Information
16.16 So What and Who Cares?
Appendix - Key Resources (Available at University of Minnesota)
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Information Strategies for Communicators Copyright © 2015 by Kathleen A. Hansen and Nora Paul is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.