Pros and cons of different sources of literature
Students use several literature sources for their academic research. These sources have both pros and cons. The benefits of using the library is that it contains a range of reference books, the student can get assistance from the librarian, it provides print exclusivity for materials found only in print and materials in the library are arranged using a standardized system. The drawbacks of the library are that materials borrowed have deadlines for returning them and it has set hours of operation (Wexler, 2000). The pros of using websites, as a source of literature is that they have current information, are conveniently accessible from anywhere, easy to use and provide diverse information. The disadvantages of websites are that they are disorganized, expensive and do not have standards. The pros of online libraries are that they are accessible always, have wide storage space, easy information retrieval and provide multiple access for different users. The challenges of using online libraries are that they are hindered by copyright and licensing rules because they do not have access to all works. Digital preservation for online libraries is also a problem. The benefits of using academic journals are that they are portable, easy to read, permanent and scholars trust them. The cons of journals are that they are expensive to buy, difficult to index and take long time from submission to publication.
Primary sources of literature enable the student to access original and unedited material for research. They provide first-hand information and enable students to interact with the source and extract information from them. Such sources include interviews, peer reviewed journals and surveys. On the contrary, secondary sources are second-hand materials edited from primary sources and they interpret and analyze primary sources of information (Kanar, 2011). In literature review, it is crucial to focus on primary sources because they provide original information that is more reliable than secondary sources.
References
Kanar, C.C. (2011). The confident student, 7th Ed. Mason, OH: Cengage Learning.
Wexler, P. (2000). Information resources. London: Academic Press.
