Introduction to research on multiple source use

As consumers of information, we live in unprecedented times, especially given the centrality of the Internet in our daily lives. We have rapid access to a staggering amount of information from diverse information sources. This is in sharp contrast to previous generations that had to physically seek out information from a relatively narrow set of source types to be informed about different topics (e.g., reading an excerpt from an encyclopedia at a library to learn about a historical event, purchasing a newspaper from a local store to keep up with recent news), or perhaps rely on the evening news to stay informed.