Veterinary - Information Sources: Types of Information Sources

Types of Information Sources to Use

The type of information source to use is determined by the kind of information you need.

When general knowledge or a quick consultation is needed:
- use textbooks, scholarly books, reference books, or clinical databases such as Vetstream.

When specific clinical answers or more current research information is needed:
- use scholarly/peer-reviewed journals or research databases such as PubMed or Web of Science.

Textbooks / Scholarly Books (Print & Electronic)

Written about specialized subjects by experts in the field.
Author is a recognized authority on the topic and often has an academic affiliation.
Published by a university press, scholarly society, or an academic association.
A bibliography or list of references and an index to topic covered is included.

How to identify scholarly books:

Reference books

Provide basic information or an overview of a subject.
Organized and formatted to access information quickly; quick consultation.
Usually provide facts, figures, illustrations, graphs, and other helpful information.
Examples include encyclopedias, dictionaries, handbooks, formularies, etc.

Scholarly Journals (Print & Electronic)

Provide original research and commentary on current developments within a specific discipline.
Articles are written by scholars or professionals who are experts in their fields; usually written by the person(s) who conducted the research.
Published by a university press, scholarly society, or an academic association.
A bibliography or list of works cited is included at the end of the article.
Intended audience is professionals, researchers, or students in the discipline.
Not all scholarly journals are peer-reviewed, but all peer-reviewed journals are scholarly.

How to identify scholarly journals:

By publisher - Is it a university press or academic association?
By author - What are the author's credentials?
By content - Is there a bibliography or list of references cited at the end of the articles?
Consult Ulrich's Global Series Directory that will provide detailed journal information including whether the journal is academic/scholarly.

Peer-Reviewed (Refereed) Journals

These scholarly journals contain articles that are reviewed and evaluated by other experts in the same field of study before they are accepted for publication.
Published by a university press, scholarly society, or an academic association.

How to identify peer-reviewed articles:

Many research databases give the option to limit search results to only peer-reviewed articles.
Visit the website of the journal which published the article and look for information about the editorial policy, submission process or requirements for author’s submission.
Consult Ulrich's Global Series Directory that will provide detailed journal information including whether the journal is reviewed or refereed.
If you still cannot determine if an article is peer-reviewed, ask an SVM librarian.

Databases

Most are tailored to specific subjects or audiences.
Contain organized collections of citations to scholarly and peer-reviewed articles written by credible authors (researchers and experts in their field).
Provide powerful search tools for refining and narrowing results, filtering out any unwanted criteria, and allowing users to more quickly find scholarly information.
Most have controlled vocabulary that allows for precise searching. Often utilizes boolean operators, nesting, and word stemming.
Easy to cite in a bibliography and most create the citation for you.

Examples: