Sourcebook

"Sourcebooks" redirects here. For the publisher, see Sourcebooks (publisher). For other uses, see Sourcebook (disambiguation).

A sourcebook is a collection of texts on a particular subject, used especially as an introduction to the subject presented, essentially a compilation of texts used as an introductory resource.[1]

Academic use

In US-American universities, a sourcebook, either a standard one or a custom collection, may function as a supplement or replacement for a textbook. Sourcebooks are also often result of the increasing ease of self-publishing, prompting authors and teachers to assemble their own packets of readings which become sourcebooks in their fields. Hence, they may be helpful in academics and education since they have a more diverse collection of information.[2]

In American law schools, casebooks are similar to sourcebooks, offering selections of legal cases and commentary, forming the basis for analysis and discussion.[3] Rather than simply laying out the legal doctrine in a particular area of study, a casebook contains excerpts from legal cases in which the law of that area was applied. It is then up to the student to analyze the language of the case in order to determine what rule was applied and how the court applied it. In essence, providing an application of law.[4]

Games

In games, a sourcebook is a publication intended to supplement the core materials of a game. Sourcebooks are usually used to complement role-playing games and tabletop or wargaming series, and often contain optional rules, scenarios, or other materials that players can use to extend or enhance the central game. While the splatbook is a sourcebook which focuses on a specific fictional aspect of the game in depth. The association of sourcebooks to tabletop series emerged with many published sourcebooks for gaming like for the World of Darkness games. Similar patterns are observed with the clanbooks for Vampire: The Masquerade, tribebooks for Werewolf: The Apocalypse, traditionbooks for Mage: The Ascension, and so on. [5][6][7]

Sourcebooks may also refer to guidebooks meant for beginners containing instructions, rules or advice as in the handbooks for Minecraft.

Popular gaming series with many sourcebooks include:

See also

References

  1. ^ "Sourcebook." Oxford Learner Dictionaries, Oxford University Press. Available at: https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/sourcebook?q=sourcebook. Accessed 16 September 2024.
  2. ^ Gale, Xin Liu; Gale, Fredric G., eds. (1999). (Re)visioning composition textbooks: conflicts of culture, ideology, and pedagogy. Albany: State University of New York Press. pp. 35–36. ISBN 978-0-7914-4121-3.
  3. ^ Kemker, Diane, A Genre-Based Critique of the Law School Casebook (October 11, 2023). Available at SSRN: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4599485. Accessed 16 September 2024.
  4. ^ Anderson, Wayne L.; Headrick, Marilyn J. (1996). The legal profession: is it for you?. Cincinnati. Ohio: Thomson Executive Press. ISBN 978-0-538-84392-8.
  5. ^ Appelcline, Shannon (2014). Designers & Dragons: The 90s. Silver Spring, Maryland: Evil Hat Productions. pp. 16–17. ISBN 978-1-61317-081-6.
  6. ^ Fannon, Sean Patrick (1999). The Fantasy Roleplaying Gamer's Bible. Jacksonville, FL: Obsidian Studios. p. 242. ISBN 0967442907.
  7. ^ Horvath, Stu (2023). Monsters, Aliens, and Holes in the Ground. Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press. pp. 54–55. ISBN 9780262048224.