FINDING SOURCES: EXPLANATIONS

Once you have selected your topic and formulated a research question, you are ready to begin looking for sources.

You will likely be required to use PRIMARY and SECONDARY sources to support your argument. Consult your professor if you are unsure of his/her expectations.

Primary Sources (Data)

• facts (dates, events)
• statistics (census, polls)
• participant accounts (interviews, diaries)
• official records or documents (Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, Treaty of Paris)
• literature (poetry, novels, plays)
• artifacts (architecture, visual media, music)
• reasoning (applies predominantly for the discipline of philosophy)

Secondary Sources (Interpretations)

Secondary Sources include BOOKS and ARTICLES.

• BOOKS
  • Monographs:

    These secondary analyses generally cover a broad scope of issues, topics or themes. A monograph will provide a specialist's interpretation of the evidence available on a subject. A monograph will also provide excerpts of primary evidence or data.

  • Collections of essays or articles:

    These collections organize a group of studies under the umbrella of a main theme or perspective. The introduction of a collection will often interpret and explain the state of research or nature of the debate.

  • Bibliographies:

    A recent bibliography will index and often explain or analyse the secondary sources available on the subject.

• ARTICLES
  • Journal articles:

    Articles in scholarly journals provide up-to-date analyses of new evidence or research. Articles are the result of primary research on a relatively narrow subject.

  • Review articles:

    Review articles, such as book reviews, analyse recent trends or currents of thought within the discipline. In addition, book reviews provide excellent summaries of the main themes and arguments of monographs.

  The University of Calgary Library Home Page provides excellent on-line information to help you find primary and secondary sources for your research paper.

  [UNIVERSITY OF CALGARY: GETTING STARTED]

  [WRITING TUTOR: MAIN INDEX]

  [Next Phase: READING SOURCES]