Information Sources: a glossary

INFORMATION SOURCES: a glossary

Books & Monographs

A book is a collection of leaves of paper, parchment, vellum, cloth, or other material (written, printed, or blank) fastened together along one edge, with or without a protective case or cover. Also refers to a literary work or one of its volumes.

A monograph is a relatively short book or treatise on a single subject, complete in one physical piece, usually written by a specialist in the field. It is usually detailed and scholarly, but not extensive in scope. The importance of monographs in scholarly communication depends on the discipline. In the humanities, monographs remain the format of choice for serious scholars, but in the sciences and social sciences where currency is essential, journals are usually the preferred means of publication.

Conference Proceedings

The published record of a conference, congress, symposium, or other meeting sponsored by a society or association, usually but not necessarily including abstracts or reports of papers presented by the participants.

Codes & Statutes

A code is a systematic compilation or revision of law or legal principles that is arranged esp. by subject. Also, it can mean a set of rules or regulations that is promulgated by a body (as a professional organization) and that regulates its industrial or professional practices.

A statute is a law enacted by the legislative branch of a government. Also, an act of a corporation or its founder intended as a permanent rule.

Court Decisions & Opinions

A decision is an authoritative determination (as a decree or judgment) made after consideration of facts or law. It can also
mean a report or document containing such a determination.

An opinion is an advisory opinion issued by an authorized public official (as an attorney general) or a recognized body (as the American Bar Association), and can also mean the formal written expression by a court or judge of the reasons and principles of law upon which the decision in a case is based.

Dissertations/Theses

A dissertation is a lengthy, formal written treatise or thesis, especially an account of scholarly investigation or original research on a specialized topic, submitted to a university in partial fulfillment of the requirements for a Ph.D. degree

A thesis is a proposition advanced and defended in a formal disputation, especially by a candidate in partial fulfillment of university requirements for a master's degree.

Government Documents

Publications of the U.S. federal government, including transcripts of hearings and the text of bills, resolutions, statutes, reports, charters, treaties, periodicals (example: Monthly Labor Review), statistics (U.S. Census), etc. In libraries, federal documents are usually shelved in a separate section by SuDocs number. The category also includes publications of state, local, territorial, and foreign governments.

Journals

A periodical devoted to disseminating original research and commentary on current developments within a specific discipline, subdiscipline, or field of study (example: Journal of Clinical Epidemiology), usually published in quarterly, bimonthly, or monthly issues sold by subscription. Journal articles are usually written by the person (or persons) who conducted the research. Longer than most magazine articles, they almost always include a bibliography or list of works cited at the end. In journals in the sciences and social sciences, an abstract usually precedes the text of the article, summarizing its content. Most scholarly journals are peer-reviewed.

Magazines

A popular interest periodical usually containing articles on a variety of topics, written by various authors in a nonscholarly style. Most magazines are heavily illustrated, contain advertising, and are printed on glossy paper. Articles are usually short (less than five pages long), frequently unsigned, and do not include a bibliography or list of references for further reading. Most magazines are issued monthly or weekly for sale at newsstands, in bookstores, and by subscription.

Media

A generic term for nonprint library materials (films, filmstrips, slides, videorecordings, audiorecordings, CD-ROMs, machine-readable data files, computer software, etc.). Microforms are not considered media because they are reproductions of print documents.

Maps

Any two-dimensional representation of all or a portion of the surface of the earth or of another celestial body, the heavens, or an imaginary geographic area, normally done to scale on a flat medium but increasingly in digital form. An atlas is a book consisting almost entirely of maps, with the content usually indexed in a gazetteer at the end.

Newspapers

A serial publication, usually printed on newsprint and issued daily, on certain days of the week, or weekly, containing news, editorial comment, regular columns, letters to the editor, cartoons, advertising, and other items of current and often local interest to a general readership. Some national newspapers are issued twice daily in early and late editions or in different editions for different regions of the country.

Reference Materials

Materials designed to be consulted when authoritative information is needed, rather than read cover to cover. Reference books often consist of a series of signed or unsigned "entries" listed alphabetically under headwords or headings, or in some other arrangement (classified, numeric, etc.). The category includes almanacs, atlases, bibliographies, biographical sources, catalogs, concordances, dictionaries, directories, discographies and filmographies, encyclopedias, glossaries, handbooks, indexes, manuals, research guides, yearbooks, etc., whether published commercially or as government documents. NOTE: In Milne Library, the call number will have a "ref" to designate it as a reference item.

Reports

A separately published record of research findings, research still in progress, or other technical findings, usually bearing a report number and sometimes a grant number assigned by the funding agency. Also, an official record of the activities of a committee or corporate entity, the proceedings of a government body, or an investigation by an agency, whether published or private, usually archived or submitted to a higher authority voluntarily or under mandate. In a more general sense, any formal account of facts or information related to a specific event or phenomenon, sometimes given at regular intervals

Research Studies

Systematic, painstaking investigation of a topic, or in a field of study, often employing hypothesis and experimentation, undertaken by a person intent on revealing new facts, theories, or principles, or determining the current state of knowledge of the subject. The results of original research are usually reported in a primary journal, in conference proceedings, or in a monograph by the researcher(s) who conducted the study. In the sciences, methodology is also reported to allow the results to be verified.

Surveys & Polls

A survey is a scientifically conducted study, or account of a study, in which data is systematically collected from a selected group of sources or informants, usually concerning general conditions, practices, habits, preferences, etc. The statistical results of survey research are usually presented in graphic, tabular, or summary form.

A poll is statistical data produced by surveying selected individuals on their opinions concerning an issue or event, usually reported by the institution that conducted or commissioned the survey, for example, the annual Gallup Poll of American public opinion. Sampling methods can influence results.

Web Sites

A group of related, interlinked web pages installed on a web server and accessible 24 hours a day to Internet users equipped with browser software. Most web sites are created to represent the online presence of a company, organization, or institution or are the work of a group or individual. The main page or welcome screen, called the homepage, usually displays the title of the site, the name of the person (or persons) responsible for creating and maintaining it, and date of last update.

Sources:

1. Glossary of Legal Terms. LexisNexis Martindale-Hubbell Lawyers.com. 16 February 2005 <http://www.lawyers.com/legal_topics/glossary/index.php?>.

2. ODLIS: Online Dictionary for Library and Information Science. Joan M. Reitz. Libraries Unlimited.
16 February 2005 <http://lu.com/odlis/>.