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Electronic v Print
Although electronic resources have changed our
access to information, print resources are not dead!
Some valuable forms of information can only be accessed
in print resources, and some will remain this way
indefinitely.
See the chart below for further explanation.
| Advantages of Electronic
Resources |
Advantages of Print Resources |
| Fast. An effective
way to retrieve a lot of information in a short
time |
Easy access.
If you are trying to find out how to spell a
word or its meaning, it can be faster and easier
to use a printed dictionary. |
| Convenience.
You can do your research anywhere at any time
from your computer. |
Depth. If you
require a depth of knowledge on a particular
subject, print resources will lead you to earlier
authoritative writings that influenced later
developments. E.g. The seminal works of Maslow
on self-esteem and self-actualisation. |
| Enhanced searching.
You can search using combinations of author/title,
keywords and subject terms with the added feature
of truncation, to find all word variations. |
Historical. Current
information can be accessed electronically.
Electronic information prior to 1990 is usually
only available in print. |
| Broaden your research.
On some electronic resources it is possible
to search a range of years, and multiple databases
simultaneously. |
Support material (e.g.
statistics, graphs, tables). Some
journal databases only offer text with a minimal
amount of support material.
Print resources offer comprehensive support
material when available. |
| Multiple users.
With most online databases, more than one person
can access the same document simultaneously. |
Cost effective. You don’t
need to use your internet quota. |
| Disadvantages of Electronic
Resources |
Disadvantages of Print
Resources |
| Computer may have slow internet
access. |
The need to do your research in
the Library. |
| Databases may be inaccessible
for maintenance. |
Not available 24/7. |
| Delay in release of fulltext |
Journal can be misplaced on shelves |
Resources types
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