There are two main types of academic book:

• textbooks - which summarise the research of others in a (sub-)discipline and can be quite broad in scope
• monographs - which are based on original research and communicate innovative contributions to a more specific field of research

These non-fiction works communicate a series of ideas around a single theme and, usually, comprise chapters. There may be one or many authors, who may share ownership or put their name to certain chapters. Books are often around 50 - 80,000 words in length. They are available in print and/or online. An edited book is a collection of chapters written by several authors and compiled and commissioned by one or more editors who have oversight to ensure that the book retains a narrative.

Learn how to spot a book reference on the next page: Reading a reference

ebooks (or electronic books) come in a variety of formats. Often they are more than just the full-text online, but include additional features such as:

• full-text searching,
• highlighting,
• the ability to add notes, and
• bookmark sections.

You often 'borrow' ebooks in the same way that you borrow a print work; you have access for a limited period and only a fixed number of students may consult the book at any one time. Occasionally you can download the whole text or a chapter. Sometimes this is yours to keep or it may disappear from your desktop after a set period of time.

You will get to know how different publishers and ebook platforms work throughout the course of your studies. The majority are accessible wherever you are in the world, but it is worth noting that there are some ebooks which can only be accessed on certain computers in certain libraries. More information is available on the Accessing Resources page.

Learn how to spot a book reference on the next page: Reading a reference

These are shorter works that communicate new research findings. You may find them called research articles/papers, review articles, or original papers but they all perform a similar function. They are published in journals. A journal is published regularly (at least once a year, but very often multiple times). Each time it is published it is referred to as an issue and issues are usually grouped into volumes (often corresponding to a year). There are usually many papers written by different authors in any one issue.

A researcher submits an article on a particular topic to a journal which often publishes on a sub-discipline of a subject area, though there are some overarching journal titles such as Nature, a multidisciplinary science journal.

Some journals are considered peer-reviewed because they only publish articles from specialists in their area and ask other specialists to comment on, question and review articles before they are published; this is a really good way of making sure that what is written is accurate and takes into account everything that has been already been published on the subject area.

If the reviewers and the journal editors feel the article is high quality and relevant to the journal, they will publish it in an issue (the reviewers very often ask for some changes to be made before the article is published). Each issue will have a limited number of articles in it, up to about 20. Each article is distinct from the others, unless it appears in a 'special issue' with articles grouped around a theme.

Typically around 8-12,000 words, articles are more specific than books and so are useful in answering a particular question, but less relevant if you want an overview or in-depth exploration of a subject. A paper in a journal usually takes less time to publish than the research that appears in books, so it is a good way of spreading current and new information.

Increasingly you'll find that these are available only online, although the university still subscribes to some print versions.

Learn how to spot a book reference on the next page: Reading a reference

• Can you tell who wrote it?
• If the author is not identified who is the sponsor, publisher, or organisation behind the information?
• Are the author’s credentials or organisational affiliations listed?
• Is the source reputable?

• What is the purpose of the information: to inform, sell or entertain?
• Does the point of view appear objective or can you determine bias?
• Is this clearly stated or apparent through a close reading?
• Does the text/site provide information or is it a critical evaluation of other information?

• When was the information published/posted? Does this matter in your field?
• When was it last revised? Have there been new studies or developments in theory since then?
• If reviewing a web source, are the links current or broken?

• Where does the information presented come from? Are the sources listed?
• Can you verify the information in other sources or from your own knowledge?

• What is the depth of coverage?
• Is the information central to your topic or does the source only touch on it?
• Is it unique? Is better quality information available from another source?
• Who is the intended audience?