Information Sources: Books
Books come in all shapes and sizes and cover virtually any topic, fact or fiction. As information sources, the type of book that you use will depend what you want to do.
Books can be classified into four different types:
- Popular books
- mostly paperbacks
- fiction & non-fiction
- written for a general audience
- written by professional writers & journalists
- any information sources used won't be referenced
- widely available
- Serious books
- mostly paperback
- written for a general audience
- provide more background and in-depth information than popular books
- might provide references and further reading recommendations
- widely available
- Trade and professional books
- mostly hardback
- written for specific groups (e.g carpenters, chemistry students)
- textbooks
- written by subject experts
- more likely to have references
- available in larger, or more specialist bookshops
- Scholarly books
- mostly hardback
- publish scholarly research
- written by scholars
- written for very specialised audience (other scholars)
- might only be available in academic libraries or from publisher
As with magazines, you can use any kind of book as an information source, but the type of book you use will depend upon what you are trying to so. Michelle Obama's autobiography will provide an excellent first hand account of life in President Obama's White House, while a paperback book on 21st century American politics might provide better background to the 2008 and 2012 American presidential elections.
Textbooks are good for providing an overview or detailed background of a specific topic. Good publishers have editorial processes and standards that ensure these books are written to a good standard and contain accurate information. Textbooks usually contain reference lists or bibliographies so that you can, if you so wish, do further reading in an area. Bad publishers - and there a few - have little editorial oversight and will publish any old rubbish. Also, as with the web, anyone can publish an ebook, so beware of ebooks whose publishers you have never heard of and can't find any information on.
Advantages of books:
- Good and thorough overview of a topic
- Quality checked by publisher (usually)
- Usually of high editorial standard
- Reference list and bibliographies for further reading in the topic
Disadvantages of books:
- Books take time to produce, so may not always contain the most up-to-date information
- Authors may be biased or push a particular point of view
- There are a number of "predatory" publishers who publish material without checking its quality
