I am concerned about whether or not my sources are actually primary. I am also concerned about whether or not I have been able to locate the best possible sources for my paper. I feel like I have had a little bit of trouble finding things that are specific to my topic and are primary. I think I need to do more research to be honest.
My number one source would be the Howard Stern interview with voters in Harlem. This is a primary source because it is an interview and peoples direct quotes on the subject. I chose this topic because it demonstrates how the voters are uneducated on the issues at hand and that they have been influenced to vote for Obama by the media, without really knowing what he stands for. The source is a YouTube video of Howard Stern asking voters in Harlem who they are voting for and why. He asks them about the policies they agree/disagree with and none of them know what they are talking about. I think this uses ethos and logos because it is showing they are not really knowledgable on the subject at hand and they do not have the facts straight.
Another source that is primary is the statistics and information I got from an article in the Houston Chronicle. This is primary because they are statistics and facts. I chose this because it backs up my point by proving this election had a ton of media coverage and the voter turnout was really high. The source is talking about the high voter turnout and its relation to the media coverage and how the media influenced uneducated voters. I think this uses logos because I am most taking from it the hard facts of numbers.
Another source would be an article about the media coverage of elections creating a bias among voters. This is primary because it has quotes from specific people and is related to my subject because they are analyzing how the media influenced the election. I think this uses logos because of the facts and pathos because people are emotionally tied to things like politics.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I think that you have a very interesting topic. I understand that you feel you may need to do some more research, and I think that your topic will not be difficult to find some new research/information because the election was such a highly documented event. The Houston article may not be a primary source if the author has a specific argument he is trying to make, however the statistics that are involved in the article would be considered primary so therefore they would be good... I think your idea of trying to find videos of celebrities trying to influence people to vote for someone would also be a good idea to make your argument. Statistics involving voter turnout and the demographics of the voters would also be good information for you and your topic as well I think.. Overall I think you have an interesting topic and one that there is an abundance of information and statistics on. I think you will be able to utilize statistics as your most influential argument, and a little more research should put you right on track!!
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like you found some pretty good and reliable sources that give good insight about the uneducated voters and how they were influenced. I think that the interview with Howard Stern will be extremely useful to your research because you are able to see what the voters themselves say. Another good research source that you may want to use is a celebrity actually influencing voters, like a commercial, or speech that they made. From this you can find out what rhetorical aspects the media is using to influence the voters.
ReplyDeleteAs far as your concerns, it sounds like maybe you can research further to find more sources.
I think that the controlling idea that connects the sources presented is the idea that the media influences uneducated voters.
I think that one way to further explore your topic would be to research the other side of the topic, which would be the "influencing side" including the celebrities. You could also maybe see what the candidates themselves have to say about the media influence, before and after the election.