Chapter 5
From Problems to Sources:
- “You want to look for reliable sources whose data let you test your hypothesis because they support it or challenge you to alter or abandon it.”
- Find Three Kinds of Sources
- Primary Sources: These are things are you write yourself about “raw data”, such as quotes by the author or book you are studying.
- Secondary Sources: Quotes and information used to back up what you are writing.
- Tertiary Sources: Information that restates what others have said. A broad explanation of a topic based on other quotes or information.
- Screening sources for reliability
- The source is published by a reputable press
- The author is a reputable scholar
- The source is current
- Locating Printed and Recorded Sources
- Research guides, Library catalogues, Online Databaes
- Finding Sources on the Internet
- Is it provided by a reliable journal or online publisher?
- It is in precisely the same form you would find in a library. Many government civic and business reports are realeased simultaneously on the Internet and in print
- It supplements print sources. Some journals use the internet to archive data not included in articles to disseminate illustrations too expensive to print, or to host disucessions between authors and readers.
- It is too recent to be found in libraries
- It is available only on the internet. Many government and academic databases are now available only online
- It is your primary source. What is posted on the internet is primary data about what people are thinking, the views of specific groups and so on.
- “Before you treat a posting as reliable, evaluate the credentials of the poster and those who own, maintain and sponsor the site.”
- Gathering Data Directly From People
- I am working on the topic of _____, so that I can find out _____, because I want my readers to understand better ____. What I am hoping to learn from you is…
