This week we focused on the value of fringe sources. Fringe sources are resources you wouldn't automatically think of when considering resources to use in a college essay, like tweets or other social media posts, blogs, music, images, or videos.
We had a great discussion in class about whether or not you should use fringe sources in your academic coursework. Here were some of the main points to consider:
- Wikipedia can be useful when you're researching a topic you know nothing about and need background info
- Look at the sources at the end of the page for your own use!
- Donald Trump uses Twitter all the time; his tweets can be a form of a primary source, depending on your topic. A lot of other social media is the same!
- Social media posts can be useful for finding context in a situation or as a record of someone's personal experience with an issue or event.
- Personally, I like looking up topics on social media when I'm doing research because, even if I don't find something to directly cite, fringe sources can be useful to find additional terms for searching and other resources.
- Many blog posts will have references and links at the bottom!
