Links and exercises related to tracking down and using primary and secondary source
Exercise #1: Secondary Sources
A thorough “literature review” of major secondary sources is essential for a CNF writer. You need to identify what’s already been written about your topic, so you’re not repeating another author’s work. You also need to collect useful facts, stats, anecdotes, quotes and other bits of “light learning” to widen the context and deepen the themes of your own draft. Finally, identifying good secondary sources is often the first step to finding potential primary sources to meet or call and interview.
- UVic Summon search of all library resources
- UVic Library Gateway: Do keyword searches first for “Books”, “Articles” and then “Databases”
- LIbrary of Congress: Search the LOC for other titles that you could order through UVic’s Interlibrary Loans
- Amazon and Google Books to do the same
- Google Scholar to find articles missed on your UVic databse searches
- Facebook: More than just a place to upload drunken photos, search Facebook for examples of groups and useful links.
Exercise #2: Primary Sources
In literary journalism and even personal essays, talking to professional experts and/or amateur enthusiasts can add both anecdotes, factual data, authority and current research to a draft. Follow these links and use a variety of key words to identify the best potential interview subjects for your topic. Then pick up a phone and make a connection.
UVic Experts database.
UBC Experts database
University of Toronto Experts database
Sources database of experts.