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Can anyone help to explain the difference between source and resource? I am quite confused about that. Thanks a lot.
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Resources
An academic library includes a vast array of sources, of all types. Which ones you will need to use depends on the nature of your research. This section will describe some types of sources and explain when you might use them and how you can find them.
Tutorials
Resources
Books & E-Books
Book Reviews
Government Documents
Multimedia
Periodicals: Popular & Scholarly
Primary and Secondary Sources
Reference Sources
Statistical Information
Thank You sir
DEAR MAHESH M S JI,
PLEASE CHECK THE FOLLOWING LINK FOR BETTER UNDERSTANDING
www.quora.com/What-is-the-difference-between-the-words-source-and-r...
hello ...
here, “re,” meaning “again.” which makes a difference betwen Source and Resource.
While a ”source” refers to the “point of origin” of something”, a ''resource'', on the other hand, is a “source” of that is available to use again and again.
sun is the source of solar energy, and whenever we use solar energy for our purposes, it become
resource.
regards,
I have seen your quarry on info sources vs resources. I append a portion of my article which may help you to distinguish Info source and info resource.:-
Please correct me if anyone find any inadvertent/conflicting statement in the article.
Information sources Vs resources
The term ‘Information Resource’ is often quoted and understood wrongly. Users tend to use ‘Information Sources’ and ‘Information Resources’ synonymously and interchangeably. Library documents are called Information Sources as they provide information. They are also called Information Resources. But the terms Information Source and Information Resource are not interchangeable. A source is one that makes something available, but a resource helps in creating something new. If a library generates services/products on the basis of information sources it holds, these sources can also be called as information resources for that library service/product. So long, libraries were having printed resources. Now e-resources are more common and popular these days because of its distinct advantages.
Resource sharing is another term. Resource sharing does not merely mean mutual sharing of information sources among libraries. It will mean utilizing information resources of one library for generating services of another library. Information Resources and Library Resources are not synonymous. Library Resources may include other resources, besides information resources, like staff and equipment. Resource Sharing may mean sharing of all these resources for the mutual benefit of libraries and their users. Therefore, the connotation of ‘Library Cooperation’ and ‘Library Resource Sharing’ are same.
Source is a place or person or material from which one can obtain something. Resource is a stock of assets or material which can be used to achieve a goal. ‘Information resources’ are the information assets of the society, an institution or organization. University of Utah in its library regulations describe “Information resources include any information in electronic, audio-visual or physical form, or any hardware or software that makes possible the storage and use of information. This definition includes but is not limited to electronic mail, phone mail, local databases, externally accessed databases, CD-ROM, motion picture film, recorded magnetic media, photographs, digitized information, or microfilm. It also includes any wire, radio, electromagnetic, photo optical, photo electronic or other facility used in transmitting electronic communications, and any computer facilities or related electronic equipment that electronically stores such communications’ (University of Utah 2016). The definition counts information resource as the assets of the library. Information resource itself is more like a piece of abstract information rather than a concrete document. The term is often used to refer to both abstract and concrete entity. Video, web, etc., are not resources. Video is a format, and web is a delivery method. Online resource which includes web pages and document on the Internet that provides useful information. Online resources are typically data and educational in nature, and any support software available online can also be considered a resource (PCMag, 2017).
An information source is a source of information that might inform that person about something. Sources may vary, as per the information requirement to satiate. It may be article, speech, image, web page etc. ‘Sources’ does not merely imply document resource but an information product delivered either by individuals or organizations which furnish information and data to users. Thus, an information source might be considered as the location or person from where the user can obtain the information he requires (Satyanarayana 1993). Following table (Table 1) depicts relation between the type and the source.
The sources can be categorized into Reference sources, Primary, Secondary, tertiary sources etc. Reference sources refers to the materials to be referred to for facts and figures, dates, names, measurements, statistics, quotations, instructions, equations, formulae, definitions, explanations, charts, graphs, diagrams, maps, etc. Primary sources are original materials on which other research is based, including original written works-poems, diaries, court records, interviews, surveys, original research/field work and research published in scholarly journals. Secondary sources are those that describe or analyze primary sources, including reference materials- dictionaries, encyclopedias, textbooks, handbooks, manuals, articles that interpret or review original research work. Tertiary sources are those used to organize and locate secondary and primary sources such as indexes- provide citations that fully identify a work with information such as author, title of a book or journal, publisher and publication date, volume and issue number and page numbers; an abstract summarizes the primary or secondary sources; Databases are online indexes that usually include abstracts for each primary or secondary resource, and may also include a digital copy of the resource (Woodley, 2016).
Table 1: The type and the Source of Information
Type |
Source |
Latest news |
Web pages of news agencies, news papers etc |
Current events, Local news, popular events etc |
News papers, news magazines, Broadcast media |
In-depth knowledge, Historical information of a topic |
Monographs (Scholarly books) |
Background information on a topic event etc |
General Encyclopedia |
Statistics |
Statistical reference books, Online statistical sources, reports of the government/government agencies |
Research focused in formation |
Scholarly research journals |
Broad or specific overview of topics |
Subject encyclopedia, handbooks, manuals, etc |
Non-scholarly information and opinion in specific areas |
Non-fiction books |
In sum, resource denotes broader term such as library catalogues, web sites, etc. Source narrows the idea with specificity. For seeker of information on evolution of fisheries in India, collection of books, library catalogue may be termed as resource. The book titled ‘Evolution of Fisheries and Aquaculture in India’ by Pillai, N.G.K and Katiha, P.K. published in 2004 by Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute, Kochi is one of the sources of information for that seeker. If a fisheries expert points to a number of books on fisheries such as (a) Cochrane, K.L. and Garcia, S.M (Ed.) 2009. A Fishery Manager’s Guidebook, 2nd ed, Rome: Food and Agriculture Organization and Wiley-Blackwell (b) Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries. 2010. Handbook on Fisheries Statistics 2009. New Delhi: Government of India (c) Day, Francis. 1883. The Fishes of India; being a natural History of the Fishes known to inhabit the Seas and Fresh Waters of India, Burma and Ceylon. Reprint 1978. New Delhi: Today and Tomorrow’s Book Agency. (d) Jhingran, V.G. 1982. Fish and Fisheries of India, edn 2. Delhi. Hindustan Pub Co. and so on for building collection in a library, the expert is an ‘information resource’. If he narrates or demonstrate a Traditional Knowledge on fishing to an information seeker, the expert can be termed as ‘information source’.
Thanking you,
Dr M Jayapradeep
I have seen your quarry on info sources vs resources. I append a portion of my article which may help you to distinguish Info source and info resource.:-
Please correct me if anyone find any inadvertent/conflicting statement in the article.
Information sources Vs resources
The term ‘Information Resource’ is often quoted and understood wrongly. Users tend to use ‘Information Sources’ and ‘Information Resources’ synonymously and interchangeably. Library documents are called Information Sources as they provide information. They are also called Information Resources. But the terms Information Source and Information Resource are not interchangeable. A source is one that makes something available, but a resource helps in creating something new. If a library generates services/products on the basis of information sources it holds, these sources can also be called as information resources for that library service/product. So long, libraries were having printed resources. Now e-resources are more common and popular these days because of its distinct advantages.
Resource sharing is another term. Resource sharing does not merely mean mutual sharing of information sources among libraries. It will mean utilizing information resources of one library for generating services of another library. Information Resources and Library Resources are not synonymous. Library Resources may include other resources, besides information resources, like staff and equipment. Resource Sharing may mean sharing of all these resources for the mutual benefit of libraries and their users. Therefore, the connotation of ‘Library Cooperation’ and ‘Library Resource Sharing’ are same.
Source is a place or person or material from which one can obtain something. Resource is a stock of assets or material which can be used to achieve a goal. ‘Information resources’ are the information assets of the society, an institution or organization. University of Utah in its library regulations describe “Information resources include any information in electronic, audio-visual or physical form, or any hardware or software that makes possible the storage and use of information. This definition includes but is not limited to electronic mail, phone mail, local databases, externally accessed databases, CD-ROM, motion picture film, recorded magnetic media, photographs, digitized information, or microfilm. It also includes any wire, radio, electromagnetic, photo optical, photo electronic or other facility used in transmitting electronic communications, and any computer facilities or related electronic equipment that electronically stores such communications’ (University of Utah 2016). The definition counts information resource as the assets of the library. Information resource itself is more like a piece of abstract information rather than a concrete document. The term is often used to refer to both abstract and concrete entity. Video, web, etc., are not resources. Video is a format, and web is a delivery method. Online resource which includes web pages and document on the Internet that provides useful information. Online resources are typically data and educational in nature, and any support software available online can also be considered a resource (PCMag, 2017).
An information source is a source of information that might inform that person about something. Sources may vary, as per the information requirement to satiate. It may be article, speech, image, web page etc. ‘Sources’ does not merely imply document resource but an information product delivered either by individuals or organizations which furnish information and data to users. Thus, an information source might be considered as the location or person from where the user can obtain the information he requires (Satyanarayana 1993). Following table (Table 1) depicts relation between the type and the source.
The sources can be categorized into Reference sources, Primary, Secondary, tertiary sources etc. Reference sources refers to the materials to be referred to for facts and figures, dates, names, measurements, statistics, quotations, instructions, equations, formulae, definitions, explanations, charts, graphs, diagrams, maps, etc. Primary sources are original materials on which other research is based, including original written works-poems, diaries, court records, interviews, surveys, original research/field work and research published in scholarly journals. Secondary sources are those that describe or analyze primary sources, including reference materials- dictionaries, encyclopedias, textbooks, handbooks, manuals, articles that interpret or review original research work. Tertiary sources are those used to organize and locate secondary and primary sources such as indexes- provide citations that fully identify a work with information such as author, title of a book or journal, publisher and publication date, volume and issue number and page numbers; an abstract summarizes the primary or secondary sources; Databases are online indexes that usually include abstracts for each primary or secondary resource, and may also include a digital copy of the resource (Woodley, 2016).
Table 1: The type and the Source of Information
Type |
Source |
Latest news |
Web pages of news agencies, news papers etc |
Current events, Local news, popular events etc |
News papers, news magazines, Broadcast media |
In-depth knowledge, Historical information of a topic |
Monographs (Scholarly books) |
Background information on a topic event etc |
General Encyclopedia |
Statistics |
Statistical reference books, Online statistical sources, reports of the government/government agencies |
Research focused in formation |
Scholarly research journals |
Broad or specific overview of topics |
Subject encyclopedia, handbooks, manuals, etc |
Non-scholarly information and opinion in specific areas |
Non-fiction books |
In sum, resource denotes broader term such as library catalogues, web sites, etc. Source narrows the idea with specificity. For seeker of information on evolution of fisheries in India, collection of books, library catalogue may be termed as resource. The book titled ‘Evolution of Fisheries and Aquaculture in India’ by Pillai, N.G.K and Katiha, P.K. published in 2004 by Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute, Kochi is one of the sources of information for that seeker. If a fisheries expert points to a number of books on fisheries such as (a) Cochrane, K.L. and Garcia, S.M (Ed.) 2009. A Fishery Manager’s Guidebook, 2nd ed, Rome: Food and Agriculture Organization and Wiley-Blackwell (b) Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries. 2010. Handbook on Fisheries Statistics 2009. New Delhi: Government of India (c) Day, Francis. 1883. The Fishes of India; being a natural History of the Fishes known to inhabit the Seas and Fresh Waters of India, Burma and Ceylon. Reprint 1978. New Delhi: Today and Tomorrow’s Book Agency. (d) Jhingran, V.G. 1982. Fish and Fisheries of India, edn 2. Delhi. Hindustan Pub Co. and so on for building collection in a library, the expert is an ‘information resource’. If he narrates or demonstrate a Traditional Knowledge on fishing to an information seeker, the expert can be termed as ‘information source’.
Thanking you,
Dr M Jayapradeep
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