This will start a shorter series discussing the different terms and themes commonly used in art and culture studies. This first chapter will give a general idea of how to think about sources and how they can be, and cant be used.
Today will start our Wednesday series on general literary and art studies. Today’s topics is on sources and how to properly evaluate them. This series is designed to help future and current Humanities students, as well as general readers of my blog.
The level of sources
We will begin with dividing our sources in different level. These levels is related to how close, or far away they are from the original text we are studying.
First hand source: The artefact itself, in other words the object of study. In this case the object of study is the game Undertale. In most cases are the first hand sources to be proffered in any kind of serious analysis.
Second hand source: a text about the artefact, in our case the second hand sources is going to take the form of Game wiki pages about Undertale, as well as other discussions about the first hand source. If the first hand sources is not available to you, then second hand sources can be used. The first hand source may be rare, or lost, or difficult to handle in one way or another.
Third hand source: usually an analysis or compilation of second hand sources. These types of sources will not be very important in the case of this study in particular, but they are important to keep in mind none the less. Third hand sources can be used when talking about wider concepts about the Artefact, but they should be avoided when making the actual analysis.
The origin of the source
It is inportant to always keep in mind where a source comes from, and who is the sender of said source. By examining the source of a text, can we learn a lot about the credibility of the text, as well as the intention of the sender.
Some things to look out for:
a) Does the source has a clear sender/author?
b) Do the source mention any form of references?
c) Is the book/magazine/website well known?
d) Do the source seem to be pushing a specific angle?
Keep in mind that these are mere guidelines and not exact rules for research. A source can still be interesting even if it comes from a dubious origin, as long as you are aware of, and transparent with this dubiousness as you work with the source.
Conclusion
When selecting your sources, keep in mind on how it relates to the text, as well where it comes from. This is but a short introduction to the subject, but it will let you start thinking about sources, and how to properly use them.
An Unused Frequency 