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FYS: Unpacking the Hunger Games (Paradis)

This is a course guide for the First Year Seminar "Unpacking the Hunger Games" taught by Dr. Paradis.

Primary & Secondary Sources

"The raw materials of history — original documents and objects which were created at the time under study." 

Primary Sources are created during the time of study

Examples: 

  • Newspaper or magazine articles
  • Books, pamphlets, government documents
  • Diaries, letters, manuscripts, speeches, interviews, relics, artifacts
  • Maps, archival materials, creative works
  • Art, visual materials, music, sound recordings, videos

 

Source:  Using Primary Sources by Library of Congress.. / Image Source: Primary Source Graphic by adstarkel. Used under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.

"Accounts or interpretations of events created by someone without firsthand experience." 

Secondary sources are created after the fact

Examples:

  • Publications (not 1st person perspective)
  • Journal articles
  • Books, textbooks
  • Histories, criticisms, commentaries
  • Reference materials, encyclopedias

Source:  Using Primary Sources by Library of Congress.. / Image Source: Secondary Source Graphic by adstarkel. Used under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.

Evaluating Media

Typically when we talk about evaluation, we are using the CRAP test. This can still be a helpful process, but it doesn't quite fit as well with media sources as it does with text ones. Since there are other considerations fo

Evaluating media: images, audio, video

Magnifying glassVIEWER PERSPECTIVE

  • What do you observe?
    • Who? What? When? Where? Why? How?
  • What do you feel?
  • Can the media be viewed in different ways?

VISUAL/AUDIO ELEMENTS

  • Look at the media composition
    • What meaning is conveyed by design choices - color, light, sound, shape, order, placement, etc?
    • Has the media been altered - cropped, filtered, autotuned, etc? If so, why?

SOURCE OF MEDIA

Hands

  • Who created this? Who published it? 
    • Do they have education or experience with the topic?
    • Is there a reason for the creator or published to be biased? 
  • Where was it published? 
    • Why did they choose that particular method? Were they paid?
  • Did they include the work of others? Was proper attribution given?
  • What information accompanies the media file - dates, technical information, context? 
    • Who supplies it? Can it be trusted?

 

CONTEXTUAL INFORMATIONDoodle of swirl with global landmarks around edge

Gathered through your observations, the information provided with the file, and through additional research:

  • What was the original context for this media?
    • What historical or socioeconomic factors influenced the production of this media?
    • Who was the original intended audience?
    • What was the social, cultural, and political climate at this time? 
  • How does this context influence your understanding of the media?
  • Has the media file been used outside of its original context? How has its use and interpretation changed over time?

Are you falling into a TRAAP?

 

Infographic Summary of the TRAAP test

 

Acknowledgement

The TRAAP Test is modified from The CRAAP Test, created by Sarah Blakeslee and the librarians at California State University's Meriam Library in 2004.

The TRAAP test (text based)

The TRAAP Test is a list of questions to help you evaluate the information you find. Different criteria will be more or less important depending on your situation or need.

Evaluation Criteria

Timeliness

  • When was the information published?
  • Does the age of the information affect the accuracy?
  • Is there a more recent version that supports or refutes the original?
  • Are the links functional?

Relevance

  • Who is the intended audience?
  • Is it pitched at a scholarly audience?
  • Have you looked at a variety of similar sources before selecting this one?
  • Would you be comfortable citing this source?

Authority

  • Where did the information come from?
  • Is the author / publisher / sponsor identified?
  • Can their credentials be verified?
  • Has the source been cited in other research?
  • Do you trust the source?

Accuracy

  • Can the information be verified other in other reliable sourced?
  • Does the research contain sufficient evidence to back it up?
  • Has it been through a peer-review process?
  • Are there spelling or grammatical errors?

Purpose 

  • Why was this information created?
  • Does it seek to inform, provide facts, to sell, or to persuade you of something?
  • Is there evidence of political, religious, institutional, or personal biases?
  • Is the information objective and impartial?

The TRAAP test is shared from The Australian National University LibGuide on Evaluating Sources.

It has been shared here under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.

creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0

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