Well-rounded, quality research includes a variety of sources. Some of them may be the traditional, academic, data-heavy type things, but they do not all have to be of that type. Other sources may be primary sources or things created for a more general audience rather than a specialized audience. Keep in mind the following for this type of assignment:
- Always follow your instructor's guidelines for an assignment regarding number and types of sources. Often your instructors will give you a minimum number of sources, but you usually can have more if the topic calls for it.
- Question people's credentials and/or appropriateness for contributing to a topic - but not too hard! Personal experience is not a substitute for an informed opinion. Just because someone has experienced something does not necessarily make them an expert on the topic. (For example, just because your parents got divorced does not mean you are an expert at all divorce topics or that your experience was exactly like other's experience.) Also, academics and professionals can have just as much bias or lack critical thinking about a topic as any one else. At this level, do not let that stress you out though!
- Consider how a variety of source types bring different things to the table for your research. Someone's experience can help paint a picture while the cold hard facts help inform about the larger point. Both are valid, but too much of one or the other leads to unbalanced research.
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