Books are typically longer works written by experts that are self-contained or published as themselves.
eBooks are "electronic books" that have been published in a digital format.
In general, books are best used when you are looking for in-depth background information.
Books May be Useful When... | Books May NOT be Useful When... |
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You need a broad overview |
The topic is very recent |
Your research topic is historical |
You have a fairly narrow topic |
You want several opinions from one place You will find there are books with "collected essays" that will give you several points of view in one compact source. Example: Commentary and criticism on Shakespeare's Hamlet |
(Table content from WCSU Libraries "Research Basics" guide, licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) 4.0 International License)
Book Type | Definition | Uses |
---|---|---|
Scholarly Books (Monographs) |
Single publication providing in-depth information on a specific, usually scholarly, subject written by experts in the field for an audience of their colleagues. You might be reading a scholarly book if...
|
Good for when you need verified, in-depth background information. Good for when you need in-depth analysis of a broad topic or lengthy period of time. |
Novels |
Fictional books written for a general audience. You might be reading a novel if...
|
Good for when you are writing a literary criticism or review of the book. Good when you want to read for personal enjoyment. NOT good as a scholarly source for a research paper. |
Textbooks |
Publications that provide a broad overview of currently accepted knowledge within a particular academic subject for the purpose of explaining it to new learners. You might be reading a textbook if...
|
Good for when you are just beginning to learn about a topic and need a broad, easily digestible overview. Good for gathering background information and gaining an initial understanding of a subject. |
Reference Books |
Publications that contain general summaries, definitions, statistics, etc. on a broad subject area and is organized for easy information retrieval. You might be reading a reference book if...
|
Good for when you are just beginning your research and need a basic understanding of your subject. Good for when you need to look up quick, factual information. Can help you find additional, more in-depth and/or scholarly resources. |
Anthologies |
Books that contain a collection of shorter written works. You might be reading an anthology if...
|
Good for finding short stories or essays that may be difficult to find published elsewhere. Good for comparing and contrasting similar works. Can be good for getting a variety of perspectives on a single topic. |
Search for physical books and ebooks owned by the library and request unowned books through interlibrary loan.
Books that fall within the following call-number ranges are likely to have information related to topics in political science:
For more information on the content that might be contained within books that have call numbers within the above ranges, click the links below: