When conducting academic research which source is best: internet or print?

刘梓琪

According to American National Science Foundation， a scientific researcher spends 51% of his research time searching and digesting academic data. This reflects the significance of sources when you are conducting academic research. Usually， at the beginning of academic research process， you can deepen your knowledge of topics which you are interested in through a wide range of primary materials and get ideas and inspiration. Mostly there are two kinds of sources you can refer to ： printed scholarly editions and editions on the internet. Which one is better has always been controversial. Actually， each of them has their own advantages and disadvantages. Though both of these sources can provide valuable information， there are lots of similarities and differences between them. There are many aspects between them that are worth comparing and discussing， such as cost， convenience and personal preferences especially. [2]

The cost of printed books and electronic resources is quite different. Print sources include ancient books， periodicals， newspapers， proceedings， reference books and so on. We can find these resources in bookstore and news-stand. If you dont want to buy them， you can also borrow them from local library. There was a research study about how students majoring in humanities and social science use the Internet and the library resources for research. Alison J. Head （2007） found that a majority of students started their research by consulting their tutors or the librarys website for online success to scholarly journals. In most cases， compared to print sources， the cost of online resources is less. A number of factors contribute to this phenomenon. Baron， Naomi， S. （2015） points out：” Once the formatting is done， the expense of manufacture （no paper need， no binding） and distribution （no postage to pay） is trivial.” It indicates that online resources save a lot of money in many ways. There actually exists some books that people want to read but have no way to buy them. So for people who want to conduct their research with less money， they will definitely choose sources on the internet. Most printed books are quite expensive. Especially for students， they dont have enough money to buy so many printed books and journals. However， they still need a number of resources to help them with their research. In that case， majority of them will probably choose online editions rather than print sources. [1] [3]

The convenience of reading and carrying is also one of the important factors for people to consider. Nowadays， people tend to read online resources. With the continuous development of computer network technology， more and more attention has been paid to the network academic resources， and the impact on academic exchange has become increasingly prominent. One of the most important signs is that it is more and more common for academic researches to quote online academic resources as references. Some editors have published digital editions together with or after printed ones. So you can gain the same information both on the internet and in print sources. Daniel Sondheim （2010） observes that unlike digital editions， the printed editions do not include different links and items among different categories. When conducting academic research， we need a number of different kinds of sources. It will certainly be very troublesome to borrow someone else's book. Whats more， printed books are always heavy and difficult for people to carry around. That adds to the inconveniences. As for electronic materials， it is much like a multifunctional book. Chambers， E.  thinks that items in different categories can be accessed more quickly. Unfortunately， it is the advantage that printed editions do not have. [5]

Preferences between internet and print are also different. Driscoll， D.L argues： The purpose of the online text maybe misleading.” In contrast， most of print editions are fair. And People more like to read print books. This solves the problem of South Paper Books. Reading on the Internet can save a lot of money and a lot of time. For example， you can save time looking for books and read them. More books， and at night can also lie in bed reading， but also save electricity， save money， very convenient， also solve the problem of books less time to read， and so on. Reading books on the Internet is also easy to preserve. It will not disappear or break with time， and it can also be read over and over again. But it is very troublesome to read books on the Internet， and the lights are dim， without affecting others， so it is convenient for you to look comfortable and comfortable. For most people who love reading， reading paper is a casual process. With a book or magazine in hand， we can quickly turn over and over the pages of interest. But on readers on computers or tablets， it's hard to get that experience. Studies have shown that information from print sources are more impressive than information from the screen， which is consistent with the subjective reading experience of ordinary people. When asked， most people admitted that print is more delighted to read. [4]

There are too many different items between online and print sources in terms of price， convenience and personal taste. Online reading can quickly find the book you want to read， and it is cheap and convenient. But people prefer printed editions because it makes people more enjoyable and comfortable， even if the printed editions are difficult to carry and buy. Reading printed sources tends to be suitable for independent thinking， with fewer interruptions. All in all， both of them are of great benefit for people to refer to when conducting academic research. As long as you make full use of them， you will acquire a lot of knowledge that are useful for your study.

Reference list：

[1]Baron， N. S.， 2015. Words onscreen： the fate of reading in a digital world. New York： Oxford University Press.

[2]Chambers， E. and Northedge， A.， 2008. The arts good study. 2nd ed. Milton Keynes： Open University.

[3]Head， A.J， 2007. Beyond Google： How do students conduct academic research？ First Monday [e-journal] 12（8-6）. Available at： [Accessed 12 May 2018].

[4]Driscoll， D.L， n.d. Evaluating Sources. [online] Available at： [Accessed 10 May 2018].

[5]Sondheim， D. et al， 2010. Scholarly editions in print and on screen： A theoretical comparison. [e-journal] 6（0）. Available through： Digital Studies/Le champ numérique website [Accessed 11 May 2018].