-- a university of arizona
course on methods and approaches for studying the future
There are two basic types of
futures literature: specific to futures (e.g., techniques, studies/reports, case
histories) and information directed at different audiences that contains a good
deal of futures-related information.
Specialized Publications (print and web sources)
Frequently large shifts
are seen early by specialized study commissions, reports of selected people
that others believe are visionary, or by groups generally considered on
the fringe of current thought. Special attention should be given to information
from these sources, especially when it seems counter intuitive. Many publications
have "future" oriented articles (including Newsweek, Time, USNews&World
Report, and Fortune). Generally these broad-based magazines have an
"annual outlook" issue published in December/January, that is
useful for gaining perspectives intended for the magazine's audience. For
examples, go to Keeping Up (below).
Web related and electronic source information (from this site)
Web related and electronic sources outside the "futures field"
There are many information
sources for the future that do not contain "future" in their title
or description. Places to find these are associations, subject matter specific
publications, and general publication. You can find about these by searching
for articles or interviews on futures topics; (via a search engine) and
finding where the articles are published. Then go to those publications
to find others. A very small list is in Keeping
Up (below).