UGC NET Law Unit – III Syllabus

What is an encyclopedia and what does it provide?

A comprehensive reference work giving authoritative background information and overview articles on subjects, arranged alphabetically or by theme; a secondary source.

Differentiate a general encyclopedia from a subject encyclopedia.

A general encyclopedia (e.g., Britannica) covers all fields of knowledge broadly; a subject encyclopedia treats one discipline in greater depth and detail.

What is a bibliography?

A systematic list of documents (books, articles, etc.) arranged by author, subject, or other order, usually with descriptive details; a secondary source for identifying literature.

What is meant by a 'bibliography of bibliographies'?

A tertiary source that lists and organises individual bibliographies, helping users locate the right bibliography for a subject.

What is the function of indexing and abstracting services?

They are secondary sources that systematically list (index) and summarise (abstract) the contents of primary documents to provide subject access and aid retrieval.

Distinguish an indexing service from an abstracting service.

An indexing service provides only bibliographic entries/locators (no summary); an abstracting service adds a concise summary (abstract) of each document's content.

What are the two main types of abstracts?

Indicative (descriptive) abstracts, which state what the document is about, and informative abstracts, which present the actual findings/data of the document.

What are statistical sources and give examples.

Reference sources compiling numerical/quantitative data on a subject or region; e.g., census reports, statistical abstracts, yearbooks of statistics, and economic surveys.

What is a handbook (or manual) as a reference source?

A compact, ready-reference compilation of frequently needed facts, data, formulas, and procedures in a field, designed for quick consultation by practitioners.

How does a handbook differ from a manual?

A handbook is a concise factual data compendium for ready reference; a manual gives step-by-step instructions on how to do or operate something (procedural guidance).

What is a directory and what information does it provide?

A list of persons, organisations, or institutions giving contact details such as names, addresses, phone numbers, and descriptive data; a secondary reference source.

What is a year book (annual)?

A reference work published annually that records events, developments, statistics, and facts of the preceding year on a subject, country, or organisation.

What is an almanac?

An annual reference work compiling miscellaneous current and statistical facts, dates, astronomical data, and general information for ready reference.

How does an almanac differ from a yearbook?

An almanac gives a wide miscellany of facts, statistics, and calendar/astronomical data (often retrospective and current); a yearbook focuses on reviewing the events and developments of a single past year.

What is a bibliographical reference source?

A source providing information about documents—their existence, identity, and location—such as bibliographies, catalogues, and indexing/abstracting services.

What is a biographical reference source and give an example.

A source giving information about persons' lives and achievements; e.g., Who's Who, biographical dictionaries, and Dictionary of National Biography.

What distinguishes current from retrospective biographical sources?

Current biographical sources (e.g., Who's Who) cover living/contemporary persons; retrospective sources (e.g., Who Was Who, DNB) cover deceased or historical persons.

What is an educational reference source?

A reference source giving information on educational institutions, courses, degrees, scholarships, and academic opportunities (e.g., guides to universities/colleges).

What is a language reference source?

A source dealing with words and language—dictionaries, thesauri, glossaries, and translating dictionaries—used to resolve queries about meaning, spelling, and usage.

What is a geographical reference source and name its main forms.

A source giving information about places. Main forms: maps and atlases (graphic), gazetteers (descriptive place dictionaries), and guidebooks.

What is the difference between an atlas and a gazetteer?

An atlas is a collection of maps representing places graphically; a gazetteer is a geographical dictionary giving descriptive, textual information about places.

What is a subject/unit gateway in the digital context?

A web-based service that provides organised, evaluated, and selective links to quality internet resources in a specific subject area, acting as a curated entry point.

What is a web portal?

A web site serving as a single integrated entry point that aggregates information, links, and services (search, news, email, databases) for users on the internet.

How does a subject gateway differ from a general web portal?

A subject gateway offers selectively evaluated, subject-specific scholarly resources; a general web portal aggregates broad, mixed-quality content and services for a wide audience.

What is a bulletin board (electronic) as an information source?

An online system where users post and read messages, announcements, and files on topics of common interest, enabling asynchronous information sharing.

What are discussion forums/groups and what is their value?

Online platforms (e.g., mailing lists, listservs, message boards) where members exchange queries, opinions, and information on shared interests; valuable as informal, current, interactive sources.

What is a bibliographic database?

A database containing citation records (author, title, source, abstract) of documents but not the full text; used to identify and locate literature (e.g., LISA, MEDLINE).

What is a numeric (numerical) database?

A database storing primarily quantitative/statistical data such as census figures, economic indicators, and survey results, often supporting analysis and computation.

What is a full-text database?

A database providing the complete text of documents (articles, reports, etc.), allowing users to read and search the entire content online (e.g., JSTOR, ScienceDirect).

What is a multimedia database?

A database that stores and retrieves information in multiple media formats—text, images, audio, video, and animation—integrated for access.

What is an open access (OA) database and name an example.

A database offering free, unrestricted online access to scholarly content without subscription/payment barriers; examples include DOAJ, PubMed Central, and arXiv.