Know Your Sources: Books

The most familiar source of information is “the book." Books can provide quick facts, instructions, and even analysis. Books can take a while to publish, so the information they provide may be outdated by the time they actually go to press. Thus books are good sources of background information and historical perspective, but may not always be the most current source available. When your argument depends on the quality of your information, you will want to check multiple sources to verify your information.

Books can be useful sources for research, especially when you need one or more of the following:

When you need background information on your topic

When you need a broad overview of a subject

When you need analysis and comparison of a topic

When you want a historical perspective

When selecting a book for your research, consider the following:

Is the information balanced? Does the book seem to present only one side of the issue?

Is the information current enough to be relevant?

One type of book that is often overlooked at the college level is the encyclopedia. Specialized encyclopedias may be consulted for bibliographies of key resources in a particular topic area; unbiased facts about a topic; factual information that may assist the researcher in other searches (like vocabulary, key dates, etc.) Click here to link to a listing of subject specific encyclopedias in UWM Libraries Reference Room.