Finding the Right Sources
Dr. Steve Beatty
Types of Sources

Primary Sources
Primary Sources

A first hand account.
Grant wrote his Personal Memoirs to secure
his family's future. In doing so, the Civil
War's greatest general won himself a unique
place in American letters. His character,
sense of purpose, and simple compassion
are evident throughout this deeply moving
account, as well as in the letters to his wife,
Julia, included here. "Perhaps the most
revelatory autobiography of high command
to exist in any language." —John Keegan
Primary Sources

If you are
researching the
American Dream in
the works of F. Scott
Fitzgerald, then The
Great Gatsby is a
primary source.
Primary Sources

Similarly, if you are
researching quest
films, then The Lord
of the Rings is a
primary source.
Types of Sources


Primary Sources
Secondary Sources
Secondary Sources

An indirect account.
If you are researching
the leaders of the
Revolutionary War,
then a study of our
“founding brothers”
would be a
secondary source.
Secondary Sources

Similarly, a book about
film noir would be a
secondary source.

However, a film noir
such as the classic
Double Indemnity would
be a primary source.
Primary or Secondary?

Which category
would the Director’s
Commentary to The
Godfather fall into?

Answer: Primary
Types of Sources



Primary Sources
Secondary Sources
Scholarly Sources
Scholarly Source
In academia, your professors will expect
you to utilize scholarly sources in your
papers.
So what is a scholarly source?
Scholarly Source

Newsweek?
Scholarly Sources

The easiest way to identify a scholarly
source is to see if they document their
sources. For example, Newsweek does
not include parenthetical documentation
or a Work Cited after its articles.
Why? Because it is written for a mass
audience not a scholarly one.
Scholarly Source


Newsweek? No.
The New York Times?
Newspaper Hierarchy

What are the top 4 American
newspapers?
Top 4 U.S. Newspapers




The New York Times
The L.A. Times
The Washington Post
The Wall Street Journal
Newspapers


There is a hierarchy of newspapers.
You would generally use the papers on
the previous slide before The Arizona
Republic, for example.
When wouldn’t you? If it were a local
issue, like illegal immigration, where
The Arizona Republic might be seen as
more authoritative.
Newspapers


Newspapers are not generally
considered scholarly sources and, thus,
typically should NOT appear as sources
in your papers.
Still, you might use them at times as a
primary source, say if you are writing
about a war and the reporter is reporting
from the war.
Scholarly Source




Newsweek? No.
The Journal of Marketing? Yes
The Journal of Popular Culture? Yes
Ladies’ Home Journal? No
Scholarly Source

However, articles in the Journal of
Marketing will have in-text
documentation and a Bibliography.
That’s because it is aimed at a scholarly
audience and one of the things a
scholarly audience looks for is whether
the author has done their homework
and consulted the proper authorities.
Scholarly Sources?





Newsweek? No.
The New York Times? No.
The Journal Of Marketing? Yes.
The Journal of Popular Culture? Yes
Ladies’ Home Journal? No.
Source Criteria


You’ve run a search and found 25
possible sources. So how do you
decide which sources are the best
sources?
First criterion?
Source Criteria

Authority
If you’re researching
horror, the guy on
the left is an
authority on the
subject.
Source Criteria


What if you don’t
know who the
authority is?
Review the literature
and see who is
constantly cited.
Source Criteria

Multiple
Intelligences

Search the lit and
you’ll soon discover
Howard Gardner is
the authority.
Source Criteria

In some cases, the
authority might be
an organization or
governmental
agency.
Source Criteria
Currency
All things being equal,
we would prefer the
most current
research. After all,
we’ve learned a bit
about DNA in the
past decade.

Source Criteria

However, authority
trumps currency. You
still probably should
mention Freud’s The
Interpretation of
Dreams if dream
interpretation is your
subject even though the
book is over 100 years
old.
Source Criteria

Sometimes, you’ll need
contemporary accounts
as well as the most
current sources. For
example, if you’re
researching the Civil
War, you’ll want some
contemporary accounts
as well as the most
current research.
Source Criteria

Objectivity
In the 50s, cigarette
companies
sponsored studies
that claimed
smoking helped
reduce tension and
sore throats.
Source Criteria

Of course that would
never happen
today . . .

Can you say
supplements?
Source Criteria



Authority
Currency
Objectivity
So be sure to consider these criteria
when determining which sources to use
for your paper.