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Ekstrom Library

WGST 692 - Snyder: Popular & Media Sources

Popular Sources

Popular sources include general news, magazine, and web publications intended for non-academic audiences. These types of sources can be a great supplement to academic research, but you always need to verify the credibility of unfamiliar sources. A simple trick for doing this is to move outside of the publication by opening a new tab and seeing what you can find out about the source, author, and content of the publication. Make sure you also take note of whether you're looking at a straightforward article or an editorial or opinion piece.

Some reputable popular sources that might be related to your areas of interest:

  • LGBTQ+
    • The Advocate, Out, Gay Times
  • Sports
    • ESPN, Sports Illustrated, Bleacher Report
  • Performance Arts
    • Dance Magazine, Rolling Stone
  • General
    • The Atlantic, Time Magazine, The New York Times, NY Magazine

You can search for your topic within a specific popular source by adding site:website to your Google search. For example, to find ESPN articles about Black athletes and hair discrimination, you can search Google for hair discrimination black athletes site:espn.com

Multimedia & Social Media Sources

Multimedia sources include non-text-based source types like podcasts, videos, images, and audio, while social media sources include posts from Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and more. Just like with unfamiliar popular sources, you always need to move outside of the source to investigate the publisher, author, and information presented in the source.

You can go to a social media site like Twitter.com and search for your topic: Gabby Douglas AND hair or a hashtag: #hairdiscrimination

Citing multimedia sources in Chicago Style

Citing social media sources in Chicago Style