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Research 101: Finding Books & Ebooks: Why Books?

Get the basics on books & library catalogs!

The Information Cycle: Where Books Fit In

Arrows pointing in the direction of the cycle of information: News Sources, Magazines; then Scholarly Research Articles, then Reference Books & Research Books (Click on image link Read More)

Pile of scholarly books neatly stackedWhen to Use Books 

A book can be a great source for any of the following:

  • Overview of trends or issues
  • Collection of essays pulled together in one place on one topic
  • Way to explore a broad topic to get ideas to narrow it down

Books (in print or online) can give you the context you need to better understand the articles you read on the same topic (More on articles later!).

And of course, any time your professor requires you to include books in your resources for your paper!

Take the Challenge!

Can you answer the question below? Test your knowledge by clicking on the question below to view the answer:

They are further down the cycle of information; they are published much later than other types of sources of information. Authors of books therefore have had enough time to be able to identify trends on an issue and many more facts that have become known on a given topic.