science

Guide to information sources

Guide to information sources is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Guide to information sources rather than just read about it. In short: A guide to information sources (or a bibliographic guide, a literature guide, a guide to reference materials, a subject gateway, etc.) is a kind of metabibliography. Ideally it is not just a listing of bibliographies, reference works and other source texts, but more like a textbook introducing users to the information sources in a given field (in general).

Key takeaways

Guide to information sources belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Guide to information sources to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Guide to information sources from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

A guide to information sources (or a bibliographic guide, a literature guide, a guide to reference materials, a subject gateway, etc.) is a kind of metabibliography. Ideally it is not just a listing of bibliographies, reference works and other source texts, but more like a textbook introducing users to the information sources in a given field (in general). Such guides may have many different forms: Comprehensive or highly selective, printed or electronic sources, annotated listings or written chapters etc.

Functions Often used as curriculum tools for bibliographic instruction, the guides help library users find materials or help those unfamiliar with a discipline understand the key sources.

Examples Aby, Stephen H., Nalen, James & Fielding, Lori (2005). Sociology; a guide to reference and information sources. 3rd ed. Westport, Conn.: Libraries Unlimited. Adams, Stephen R. (2005). Information Sources in Patents; 2nd ed. (Guides to Information Sources). München: K. G. Saur ISBN 3-598-24443-6 Blewett, Daniel K (2008). American military history; a guide to reference and information sources. 2nd ed. Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited. Jacoby, JoAnn & Kibbee, Josephine Z. (2007). Cultural anthropology; a guide to reference and information sources. 2nd ed. Westport, Conn.: Libraries Unlimited. Schmidt, Diane & Bell, George H. (2003). Guide to reference and information sources in the zoological sciences. Westport, Conn.: Libraries Unlimited. O'Hare, Christine (2007). Business Information Sources. London: Library Assn Pub Ltd Ostwald, W (1919). Die chemische Literatur und die Organisation der Wissenschaft. Leipzig: W. Ostwald & C. Drucker. (This is considered the first "guide to information sources"). Stebbins, Leslie F. (2006). Student guide to research in the digital age; how to locate and evaluate information sources. Westport, Conn.: Libraries Unlimited. Webb, W. H. et al. (Ed.). (1986). Sources of information in the social sciences. A Guide to the literature. 3. ed. Chicago: American Library Association. Zell, Hans M. (ed.). (2003). The African studies companion; a guide to information sources. 3rd rev. and expanded ed. Glais Bheinn: Hans Zell.

See also Information literacy Information source Metabibliography Pathfinder (Library Science) Reference work

Literature Bottle, R. T. (1997). Information science. I: Feather, J. & Sturges, P. (Eds.). International encyclopedia of library and information science. London & New York: Routledge. (pp. 212–214). Vileno, L. (2007). From paper to electronic, the evolution of pathfinders: a review of the literature. Reference Services Review. 35(3), 434-451. Også tilgængelig 2009-08-16 fra: http://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insight/ViewContentServlet?contentType=Article&Filename=Published/EmeraldFullTextArticle/Articles/2400350310.html Library Trends, 1990, vol 38, issues 3-4, p 453 Google Books S Hargitay and S-M Yu. Property Investment Decisions: A Quantitative Approach. Routledge. Page 255

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Guide to information sources

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Guide to information sources claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Guide to information sources before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Guide to information sources ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Guide to information sources

In research: Guide to information sources appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Guide to information sources in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Guide to information sources is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Bibliography, Information science, Library science, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Guide to information sources outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Guide to information sources in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Guide to information sources means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Guide to information sources out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Guide to information sources in simple terms?

Why does Guide to information sources matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Guide to information sources?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Guide to information sources.