Elsevier-report in May 2008 on … The role of online books in supporting academic researcher productivity: Integration of online books into the scientific workflow.
Book content frequently complements information found in peer-reviewed journals and vice versa. Crossnavigation between books and journals is an integral aspect of scholarship and helps to support the formulation of hypotheses. Respondents specified that journal data would often set them on a new path of inquiry that would inevitably lead back to books. Dr. Daniel Richter also routinely consults online books at the beginning of a new research project, consulting papers or individual chapters. For him, it is a process of going back and forth, linking between books and journal articles and back to books again. “I can see that there is potential for saving a lot of time and being more efficient,” according to Dr. Richter. “The obvious benefit is that these resources can be linked, so when I read something online, I can see the reference and I can immediately link to it.” One respondent called this the “dynamic ping-ponging” between information and described it as the best way to broaden their horizons.