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Information Sources

This guide will provide useful information on the various types of information sources, why they are used, and other helpful tips.

Books

Books are great information resources. Keep in mind, however, that it takes about a year (or longer) for a book to get published.

Books are helpful for: 

  • Providing stable information on a topic that does not change frequently
  • In-depth, comprehensive treatment of a subject or person
  • Learning about the historical perspective of an event and for historical topics
  • Providing a literary analysis of a work

Reference books are helpful for:

  • Focusing your topic
  • Providing an overview of a subject
  • Obtaining background information
  • Learning the vocabulary of a subject
  • Identifying key thinkers in a discipline
  • Locating facts and statistics
  • Learning definitions
  • Directing you to related sources
  • Providing tools for analyzing, broadening, or narrowing a topic
  • Providing key words and terms needed to conduct further research

Encyclopedias and Dictionaries

These types of reference books are especially useful at the start of your research.  However, they may not always be acceptable as sources for your assignment.  Be sure to check with your instructor before listing them in your works cited page.

Encyclopedias can be either of a general nature or subject specific and often contain detailed, signed articles written by experts in the field.

Other types of reference books include:

  • almanacs
  • atlases and maps
  • bibliographies
  • biographies
  • handbooks
  • indexes

Ask yourself...

What is the publication date? Check the date for currency.  Is this important for your topic?

Are author credentials provided; for example, is the author a professor, a journalist, someone with experience in the field?  (See inside back cover on a hardcover book or the outside back cover on a paperback book.)

Is the publisher a university press?  A large well-known company?  A special interest group? Is the book self-published?

Look at the length of the book.  Is it comprehensive? 

What is the level of language:  Easy enough for a child? Generally understood by an adult? Scholarly? Technical?

Is there an index?  

Is there a list of references/bibliography? 

How descriptive is the table of contents?

What is the purpose of the book:  To inform?  Persuade?  Entertain?

Does the book exhibit a bias?  Does it present different points of view?

In addition to the main part of the book, check these for more information:

Preface - Discover the scope of the book and author's purpose

Introduction - Read the preliminary information before reading the text of the book

Table of Contents - See the organization of the book

Notes, Bibliography, References - Examine the citations to sources the author consulted

Index - Find a specific topic that is covered in the book, with the page number where it is found