Do you prefer reference books to reference web sites?

Question

I do, I will confess, but then I'm an ancient 59 years old. I suspect there is a very age-related preference here. I only look on the Internet when my reference book shelf fails me. So include your age with your answer, if you will. Do you think this is also a gender thing?

Answer 1

I'm a 29-year-old guy and I tend to prefer books to the internet for a couple of reasons.

1. It is easier to do research and compare info from a bunch of books open on the table than a bunch of windows that you have to keep flipping back and forth on the computer.

2. Anyone can put anything on the internet and say it is true, books are more trustworthy. I will not trust the info I find on the first website I find until I have the same info on at least two or three other sites or books. I am more willing to believe the first book I find the info in.

3. The internet might be fast, but books are even faster. It takes less time to pull a book of a shelf and flip to the index and then the right page than it does to turn on the computer, load up the internet program, type in the web address, and load up the page.



In all, books are quicker, easier to use, and more trustworthy than the internet, IMO.

Answer 2

I'm 43. I like both. The books are such an interesting read and I've found more information in the books than on the websites.



The websites I use for a quick, fun, easy way to answer a question at the speed of light. A lot different from when I was growing up and the nearest reference library from our school was over 50 miles away.

Answer 3

Although I have been educated to search Web sites, it is much easier to actually go to the library and look in the Index of a book to find pages to look at information. I'd much rather be told that I can look at pages 59 through 78 in a book for information regarding a certain topic, then to have to look through thousands of Web pages.



Books are definitely authorative, while Internet Websites have to be considered carefully. Who wrote it? Where is it published from? Has it been linked to from another Website? Does the Webmaster/owner have credibility and credits?

Answer 4

Reference books have MUCH more information then the web. The information on the web is a sheet of paper compared to what is printed. That being said the benefit of the web is speed and the ability to look at several sources quickly. The information may not be as detailed on the web but often it is just enough.

Answer 5

Something about thumbing through a reference book that I just vastly prefer. I also trust the books more so than I trust the internet. On the internet- you can spend just as much time verifying the site is real/accurate as you do looking it up.



But I use internet reference sites as well...

Answer 6

No, I prefer reference web sites. They are far more dynamic and allow you to search far faster for information. Also, they allow your mind to jump to new ideas and relate ideas between them far more dynamically than any book can. Don't take me wrong, though, when I was a kid I loved reading through my dad's Encyclopaedia Britannica and researched far far too many things in it and enjoyed every moment of my searches on it.

Answer 7

I definitely prefer a hard copy - it hurts my eyes to try and read online. The good thing about the net is that you can search it very easily...



I'm an ancient 22 year old... :)

Answer 8

web sites are so much easyer