Books can offer an in-depth, even comprehensive view of a subject. Articles, on the other hand, will be more focused on a specific aspect of a subject. For example, suppose you are writing a paper on a poem by Robert Frost. You can easily find a book on the poetry of Robert Frost in the library's collection, but that book might or might not discuss your poem in detail. However, you could probably find several articles that focus specifically on the poem you are interested in.
Articles are great sources for finding information on specific facets of a topic.
There are few websites that can boast of being comprehensive. For the most complete coverage of a subject, you will usually want to consult books, then periodical articles. The authority of information is an element that's often overlooked but extremely important. It's even more important nowadays, when so much unedited, unreviewed information is available over the World Wide Web. Let's discuss what tools Bryan needs to use to find each type of source.