Dear All, Please excuse my ignorant question about the difference in meanings between a "source" and a "medium". Even though I would really like to study Information science or Communications [and with God's help I will], I haven't yet had any opportunity to do so and what I know is based on papers freely available online as well as in Elsevier's database. My background is Economics. To make things worst, I am not a native speaker. I was reading a paper written by a colleague of mine and noticed that she uses two words: a "medium" and a "source" as synonyms. For her the Internet is both a source and a medium of information. According to the Online Dictionary of Library and Information Science a "medium" is "information storage and retrieval, the physical substance or material on which data is recorded (parchment, paper, film, magnetic tape or disk, optical disk, etc.) or through which data is transmitted (optical fiber, coaxial cable, twisted pair, etc.). In a more general sense, the material or technical means by which any creative work is expressed or communicated, in print or nonprint format (...)". http://lu.com/odlis/odlis_m.cfm while a "source" is "Any document that provides information sought by a writer, researcher, library user, or person searching an online catalog or bibliographic database. Also refers to a document that provides information copied or reproduced in another document, for example, a quotation or excerpt." http://lu.com/odlis/odlis_s.cfm The same dictionary states that the "Internet" is a "The high-speed fiber-optic network of networks"; so it is not a "document that provides information (...)" However, I came across a lot of publications where the authors seem not to distinguish between "medium" and "source". As I said, I am not a native speaker - could you tell, if these two meanings have merged and I am simply pedantic or shall I follow the above definitions? Or perhaps there is a reason for using these to words as synonyms? Could you explain it to me, please ? Kind regards, Maciej ____________________________________ I am looking for an academic mentor.