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English Research Guide

A research guide highlighting library databases for English literature research.

Examples

Is it a Primary or Secondary Source?

 

SUBJECT PRIMARY SECONDARY
Art and Architecture Painting by Georgia O'Keeffe Article critiquing art piece
Physical/Life Sciences Jane Goodall's Autobiography Meg Greene's:  Jane Goodall: a Biography
Engineering/Physical Sciences Patent NTIS database
Humanities Letters by Martin Luther King Web site on King's writings
Social Sciences Notes taken by clinical psychologist Magazine article about the psychological condition
Performing Arts Movie filmed in 1942 Biography of the director

From https://lib.guides.umd.edu/researchusingprimarysources

Types of Information Sources

Types of Secondary Sources

As you conduct literary research, be sure to ask your instructor what type of information they are looking for you to use to support your arguments and analysis.  Are you to use scholarly, research-based articles?  Trade or general readership sources/sites?  What about primary sources?  The chart below analyzes the different types of secondary research/sources.

BEAM Method

The word BEAM superimposed over an architectural drawing of columns and beams

A better way to think about your sources

 

Red text: "Background." Image: icon of an open book with a globe above it, circled by a red background Green text: "Exhibit." Image: icon of a paper on an envelope with a magnifying glass, circled by a greenbackground Purple text: "Argument." Image: icon of stacked pages of an article circled by a purple background Yellow text: "Method." Image: icon of different charts, circled by a yellow background

Explanation

Factual information that provides an overview of or context for a topic.

Sources that will be analyzed or interpreted

Critical views from other scholars or commentators that can be agreed with, disagreed with, or built upon.

The method and theories used to shape a research methodology, approach, or analytical lens

Examples

Encyclopedia entries, overviews in books, statistics, historical newspaper articles

Text of a novel, field observation, focus group data, interviews, performances, results from an experiment

Scholarly articles, books, critical reviews, editorials

references to theorists (Foucault, Said) or theories (feminism, critical race theory), information on a research methodology

Where are you most likely to use these sources?

Introduction

Body, Results section

Body, sometimes in the Introduction or a Literature Review

Methods section, sometimes referenced in the Introduction or the Body

Rather than only think about whether a source is primary, secondary, or tertiary; instead think about how you are going to use that source. If you have at least one source in each category, your writing will be stronger and your arguments will be better supported.

Sources can serve more than one function!

For instance, a journal article could:

  • provide background information on a topic
  • serve as an exhibit you will analyze
  • make an argument for you to respond to
  • or could include a method for you to follow in organizing your own data gathering and reporting

However, some sources are focused on a single function.  For example, an encyclopedia entry on “Alzheimer's disease” is likely to only serve as background information.

Credits:

The BEAM method is from: Bizup, Joseph. “BEAM: A Rhetorical Vocabulary for Teaching Research-Based Writing.Rhetoric Review 27.1 (2008): 72-86.
This page is adapted from "Source Functions: Background, Exhibits, Argument, Method (BEAM)" from the University of California Merced Library.

Image Credits:

BEAM title image: 10. Column and Beam Details - Hantz House, 855 Fairview Drive, Fayetteville, Washington County, AR Drawings from Survey HABS AR-54 created by the Historic American Buildings Survey is in the Public Domain.
Background icon: Investigation created by Nhor Phai is used under Flaticon.com's license.
Exhibit icon: Encyclopedia created by Talha Dogar is used under Flaticon.com's license.
Argument icon: Application created by Freepik is used under Flaticon.com's license.
Method icon: Pie chart created by Freepik is used under Flaticon.com's license.

For more information:

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Science Library: 317-940-9937

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