{"id":83,"date":"2017-06-19T22:54:50","date_gmt":"2017-06-19T22:54:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/olemiss-writing100\/chapter\/types-of-sources\/"},"modified":"2024-04-24T22:25:26","modified_gmt":"2024-04-24T22:25:26","slug":"types-of-sources","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-writingskillslab-2\/chapter\/types-of-sources\/","title":{"raw":"Types of Sources","rendered":"Types of Sources"},"content":{"raw":"<div class=\"textbox learning-objectives\">\r\n<h3>Learning Objective<\/h3>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>Differentiate types of sources<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/div>\r\nIt is probably an oversimplification to boil research sources down to three categories. But, for the work you\u2019re doing now, this taxonomy for identifying sources makes sense. As you move through the content and practice activities on this page, think about how this method of differentiating sources aligns to your own experience with research.\r\n<h2>Print<\/h2>\r\nIs a \u201cprint\u201d source always on paper when you receive it? Well, not really. Digital databases and the internet have made the line between \u201cprint\u201d and \u201conline\u201d sources more gray than you might expect. A good rule to follow when thinking about whether a source is \u201cprint\u201d or \u201conline\u201d is to look at the original intended method of delivery. <em>The New York Times<\/em> is a print newspaper, even if many of its readers receive its content online. In addition to the fact that an interested reader can actually purchase a physical copy of any given day\u2019s <em>New York Times<\/em>, its organizational structure is that of a print newspaper.\r\n\r\nThe same thing is true for academic journals and articles. For the most part, you will access academic journal articles from online databases through your university library or with tools like Google Scholar. Most of these journal articles are delivered to you in PDF format: PDF is a filename extension for Portable Document Format. It\u2019s one of the closest digital file formats to \u201cprint.\u201d Thus, academic journal articles are almost always considered \u201cprint\u201d sources. In many style guides, you would cite an academic journal that you viewed from a PDF the same as you would if you were citing the same article from a bound journal in your hands.\r\n\r\nUnfortunately, identifying what is and isn\u2019t a print source is not always so easy. Take, for instance, <em>The Huffington Post.<\/em> In many ways, its website is similar to that of the <em>New York Times<\/em>. However, <em>The Huffington Post<\/em> has always been completely online. A print copy of the <em>Post<\/em> has never existed. Beyond that, though, if you take time to examine its organizational structure, the way it publishes and vets content, and the overall scope of <em>Huffington Post<\/em>, it\u2019s clear that it is much more like <em>Buzzfeed<\/em> than <em>The New York Times<\/em>. That doesn\u2019t mean it\u2019s a bad source, by the way. <em>Buzzfeed<\/em> has won Pulitzer Prizes for some of its journalism. But you can\u2019t call it a print source, and you probably can\u2019t call <em>The Huffington Post<\/em> a print source either.\r\n\r\nOn the other side of the campus fence are online-only academic journals. These journals, like <em><a href=\"http:\/\/kairos.technorhetoric.net\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Kairos<\/a><\/em>, are peer-reviewed, respected academic journals: Publishing an article in <em>Kairos<\/em> would be just as credible and noteworthy as publishing an article in <em>Computers and Writing<\/em>, a traditional print journal. So is <em>Kairos<\/em> a print source? Probably not. But it is a scholarly source. Remember that it\u2019s always a good idea to look at a source through both lenses: scholarly vs. non-scholarly and print vs. online vs. multimedia.\r\n<div class=\"textbox examples\">\r\n<h3>Examples<\/h3>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>Books<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Journal Articles<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Magazine Articles<\/li>\r\n \t<li>White Papers<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Traditional Encyclopedias (like <em>Encyclopedia Britannica<\/em>)<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Reports<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<h2>Online<\/h2>\r\nAre all online sources bad? Is Wikipedia destroying legitimate research? Should you monkishly eschew all rooms with available WiFi when doing your research? Of course not, on all three accounts. Online sources have their place, and there are good online sources and bad online sources.\r\n\r\nWhat are some online sources that might be useful in your research process? Here are a few examples:\r\n<div class=\"textbox examples\">\r\n<h3>Examples<\/h3>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>Government information or statistics<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Company financial reporting data<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Blogs by public figures<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Websites of businesses or organizations<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Online magazines or newspapers<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Discussion boards or forums<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Wiki-style encyclopedias (like <a href=\"http:\/\/starwars.wikia.com\/wiki\/Main_Page\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Wookiepedia <\/a>)<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Online academic journals<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Online academic monographs (books)<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/div>\r\nThe quality of these sources can vary widely. You should carefully evaluate all online sources for credibility and relevance. You\u2019ll learn the methods of evaluating an online source later in the module.\r\n<div class=\"textbox tryit\">\r\n<h3>practice<\/h3>\r\nhttps:\/\/assess.lumenlearning.com\/practice\/53cad9e7-0455-49b0-99ff-eb6b2b64b97c\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<h2>Multimedia<\/h2>\r\nWhat do we mean by \u201cmultimedia\u201d sources? Well, basically anything that doesn\u2019t fit neatly into the category of \u201cprint\u201d or \u201conline\u201d lands here. Depending upon the nature of your project, you may need to use videos, photographs, podcasts, or even songs as sources. As the researcher, you have the responsibility of vetting these sources, just as you would a website or a book. Sometimes multimedia sources can lead to vibrant and engaging research, so you should not discount their usefulness.\r\n\r\nWhat are some typical multimedia sources that you might look for? Here are a few examples:\r\n<div class=\"textbox examples\">\r\n<h3>Examples<\/h3>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>Documentaries on Netflix<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Interviews of public officials on YouTube<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Podcasts about current events<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Photo essays on the <em>New York Times<\/em> website<\/li>\r\n \t<li>TED talks<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Raw video of events broadcasted to Facebook Live<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/div>","rendered":"<div class=\"textbox learning-objectives\">\n<h3>Learning Objective<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Differentiate types of sources<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<p>It is probably an oversimplification to boil research sources down to three categories. But, for the work you\u2019re doing now, this taxonomy for identifying sources makes sense. As you move through the content and practice activities on this page, think about how this method of differentiating sources aligns to your own experience with research.<\/p>\n<h2>Print<\/h2>\n<p>Is a \u201cprint\u201d source always on paper when you receive it? Well, not really. Digital databases and the internet have made the line between \u201cprint\u201d and \u201conline\u201d sources more gray than you might expect. A good rule to follow when thinking about whether a source is \u201cprint\u201d or \u201conline\u201d is to look at the original intended method of delivery. <em>The New York Times<\/em> is a print newspaper, even if many of its readers receive its content online. In addition to the fact that an interested reader can actually purchase a physical copy of any given day\u2019s <em>New York Times<\/em>, its organizational structure is that of a print newspaper.<\/p>\n<p>The same thing is true for academic journals and articles. For the most part, you will access academic journal articles from online databases through your university library or with tools like Google Scholar. Most of these journal articles are delivered to you in PDF format: PDF is a filename extension for Portable Document Format. It\u2019s one of the closest digital file formats to \u201cprint.\u201d Thus, academic journal articles are almost always considered \u201cprint\u201d sources. In many style guides, you would cite an academic journal that you viewed from a PDF the same as you would if you were citing the same article from a bound journal in your hands.<\/p>\n<p>Unfortunately, identifying what is and isn\u2019t a print source is not always so easy. Take, for instance, <em>The Huffington Post.<\/em> In many ways, its website is similar to that of the <em>New York Times<\/em>. However, <em>The Huffington Post<\/em> has always been completely online. A print copy of the <em>Post<\/em> has never existed. Beyond that, though, if you take time to examine its organizational structure, the way it publishes and vets content, and the overall scope of <em>Huffington Post<\/em>, it\u2019s clear that it is much more like <em>Buzzfeed<\/em> than <em>The New York Times<\/em>. That doesn\u2019t mean it\u2019s a bad source, by the way. <em>Buzzfeed<\/em> has won Pulitzer Prizes for some of its journalism. But you can\u2019t call it a print source, and you probably can\u2019t call <em>The Huffington Post<\/em> a print source either.<\/p>\n<p>On the other side of the campus fence are online-only academic journals. These journals, like <em><a href=\"http:\/\/kairos.technorhetoric.net\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Kairos<\/a><\/em>, are peer-reviewed, respected academic journals: Publishing an article in <em>Kairos<\/em> would be just as credible and noteworthy as publishing an article in <em>Computers and Writing<\/em>, a traditional print journal. So is <em>Kairos<\/em> a print source? Probably not. But it is a scholarly source. Remember that it\u2019s always a good idea to look at a source through both lenses: scholarly vs. non-scholarly and print vs. online vs. multimedia.<\/p>\n<div class=\"textbox examples\">\n<h3>Examples<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Books<\/li>\n<li>Journal Articles<\/li>\n<li>Magazine Articles<\/li>\n<li>White Papers<\/li>\n<li>Traditional Encyclopedias (like <em>Encyclopedia Britannica<\/em>)<\/li>\n<li>Reports<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<h2>Online<\/h2>\n<p>Are all online sources bad? Is Wikipedia destroying legitimate research? Should you monkishly eschew all rooms with available WiFi when doing your research? Of course not, on all three accounts. Online sources have their place, and there are good online sources and bad online sources.<\/p>\n<p>What are some online sources that might be useful in your research process? Here are a few examples:<\/p>\n<div class=\"textbox examples\">\n<h3>Examples<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Government information or statistics<\/li>\n<li>Company financial reporting data<\/li>\n<li>Blogs by public figures<\/li>\n<li>Websites of businesses or organizations<\/li>\n<li>Online magazines or newspapers<\/li>\n<li>Discussion boards or forums<\/li>\n<li>Wiki-style encyclopedias (like <a href=\"http:\/\/starwars.wikia.com\/wiki\/Main_Page\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Wookiepedia <\/a>)<\/li>\n<li>Online academic journals<\/li>\n<li>Online academic monographs (books)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<p>The quality of these sources can vary widely. You should carefully evaluate all online sources for credibility and relevance. You\u2019ll learn the methods of evaluating an online source later in the module.<\/p>\n<div class=\"textbox tryit\">\n<h3>practice<\/h3>\n<p>\t<iframe id=\"assessment_practice_53cad9e7-0455-49b0-99ff-eb6b2b64b97c\" class=\"resizable\" src=\"https:\/\/assess.lumenlearning.com\/practice\/53cad9e7-0455-49b0-99ff-eb6b2b64b97c?iframe_resize_id=assessment_practice_id_53cad9e7-0455-49b0-99ff-eb6b2b64b97c\" frameborder=\"0\" style=\"border:none;width:100%;height:100%;min-height:300px;\"><br \/>\n\t<\/iframe><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h2>Multimedia<\/h2>\n<p>What do we mean by \u201cmultimedia\u201d sources? Well, basically anything that doesn\u2019t fit neatly into the category of \u201cprint\u201d or \u201conline\u201d lands here. Depending upon the nature of your project, you may need to use videos, photographs, podcasts, or even songs as sources. As the researcher, you have the responsibility of vetting these sources, just as you would a website or a book. Sometimes multimedia sources can lead to vibrant and engaging research, so you should not discount their usefulness.<\/p>\n<p>What are some typical multimedia sources that you might look for? Here are a few examples:<\/p>\n<div class=\"textbox examples\">\n<h3>Examples<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Documentaries on Netflix<\/li>\n<li>Interviews of public officials on YouTube<\/li>\n<li>Podcasts about current events<\/li>\n<li>Photo essays on the <em>New York Times<\/em> website<\/li>\n<li>TED talks<\/li>\n<li>Raw video of events broadcasted to Facebook Live<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t <section class=\"citations-section\" role=\"contentinfo\">\n\t\t\t <h3>Candela Citations<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t <div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t <div id=\"citation-list-83\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t <div class=\"licensing\"><div class=\"license-attribution-dropdown-subheading\">CC licensed content, Original<\/div><ul class=\"citation-list\"><li>Types of Sources. <strong>Provided by<\/strong>: University of Mississippi. <strong>Project<\/strong>: PLATO Project. <strong>License<\/strong>: <em><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"license\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-sa\/4.0\/\">CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike<\/a><\/em><\/li><\/ul><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t <\/div>\n\t\t\t <\/section>","protected":false},"author":163,"menu_order":4,"template":"","meta":{"_candela_citation":"[{\"type\":\"original\",\"description\":\"Types of Sources\",\"author\":\"\",\"organization\":\"University of Mississippi\",\"url\":\"\",\"project\":\"PLATO Project\",\"license\":\"cc-by-sa\",\"license_terms\":\"\"}]","CANDELA_OUTCOMES_GUID":"0b383627-3eef-402a-84c5-e810c10f7054,  1796102e-af0d-4eda-9119-231ee63c7607","pb_show_title":"on","pb_short_title":"","pb_subtitle":"","pb_authors":[],"pb_section_license":""},"chapter-type":[],"contributor":[],"license":[],"class_list":["post-83","chapter","type-chapter","status-publish","hentry"],"part":79,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-writingskillslab-2\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/83","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-writingskillslab-2\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-writingskillslab-2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/chapter"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-writingskillslab-2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/163"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-writingskillslab-2\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/83\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1655,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-writingskillslab-2\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/83\/revisions\/1655"}],"part":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-writingskillslab-2\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/parts\/79"}],"metadata":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-writingskillslab-2\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/83\/metadata\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-writingskillslab-2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=83"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"chapter-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-writingskillslab-2\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapter-type?post=83"},{"taxonomy":"contributor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-writingskillslab-2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/contributor?post=83"},{"taxonomy":"license","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-writingskillslab-2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/license?post=83"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}