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COMM:1130 The Art of Persuading Others : Sources

Guide content supports the teaching and research goals of multiple departments on campus. Content represents a non-exhaustive selection of essential resources and tools for engaging a wide range of backgrounds and viewpoints.

Primary Sources in Comm Studies

Primary sources are first-hand accounts of events - or original records created during the time period - that do not contain any outside interpretation. 

Examples:

  • Speeches
  • Letters
  • Interviews
  • News footage
  • Creative works (art, literature, film, etc.)
  • Autobiographies
  • Official records
  • Advertisements
  • Photographs

Nike ad with color photograph of gymnast Simon Biles doing a move, with text "Do things history could only dream of' and Nike logo

Screen shot of Pew Research Center post on "Americans' Social Media Use"

Iron Man movie cover, collage of characters

Secondary Sources in Comm Studies

Secondary sources interpret, assess, or analyze a historical event, phenomenon, or primary source. Often - but not always - this interpretation or review of information happens well after the original source is created. 

Examples:

  • Research studies
  • Biographies
  • Book and film reviews
  • Encyclopedias
  • Textbooks
  • Scholarly analysis

 

Screen shot of academic paper by Xiaotong Liu entitled "Sportswomen and Digital Media: Case Study of 'Dream Crazier' Campaign"

Screen shot of Desert News article "New poll explores how Americans use social media"

Screen shot of Roger Ebert.com website with review of "Iron Man" film

What is a peer-reviewed source?

Have you ever heard sources described as..

Peer-reviewed? Scholarly? Academic? Refereed?

And wasn't sure what each meant? They are used interchangeably, essentially meaning that the resource, researched and written by someone in an academic field, had other people in that academic field review it and confirm its merit.

The easiest way to find peer reviewed articles, is to select the "Peer Reviewed Journals" filter on the left side of the screen in InfoHawk+.

Screen shot of InfoHawk+ filters with black oval around "Peer Reviewed Journals"

Watch the Peer Review in Three Minutes video for more information!