Secondary Research: Homophobia

What are official and unofficial sources? Why do we use them?

Official sources: e.g: Kent Police and Kent Highway Agency. Information released by authorities for journalists to use. This could be an official announcement about a situation, something that the authorities are happy to be revealed to the public.

Unofficial sources: e.g: Twitter and Facebook. Unofficial information that is not released, by authorities, but written by the public, and also not written for journalists. This could be a post on a social networking site from a witness of a situation.

Unofficial source

This source is a presentation, created online and then shared to the public online, for anyone with internet access to view. The presentation covers the topic of sexual orientation discrimination, and it specifically focuses on the fact that homophobia is a social injustice.

I accessed this source on the 22/09/2016, and the presentation itself was created on 2/03/2015.

This presentation was made by Lizethe Rodriguez, who is a random person on the internet who decided to create a PowerPoint on homophobia. The topic of this source focuses on homophobia in a way that makes it relatable to anyone and everyone who is a part of the ever-growing LGBT+ community.

Pros and cons:

  • This source is not fact based, therefore is not reliable. (-)
  • The presentation seems to be more emotive than an article would be. (+)

Official source

This source is an article on the Orlando club shooting, written in the Telegraph,  and it is also online for anyone with internet access to read. The source covers a small incident within the sexual orientation topic, but still focuses on a group of victims rather than one specific person.

I accessed this source on the 22/09/2016, and the article itself was written on the 13/06/2016, which was shortly after the incident occurred.

The article was written by Ruth Hunt, and she is a recurring written for the Telegraph. The focus point of her article is the victims of the attack, but her report is written in such a way that it almost speaks out to anyone who would come under a category with the LGBT+ community.

Pros and Cons:

  • The newspaper is a reliable source, as it does accurate researching and reporting. (+)
  • The article feels disconnected. (-)

Primary Source: Information that is gathered by the person using the result e.g: an interview.

 

Secondary Source: Information that is written or gathered by somebody else and then used by others.

Hunt, R. (2016) The Orlando shooting grew out of everyday homophobia – we cannot be complacent Available at: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/06/13/the-orlando-shooting-grew-out-of-everyday-homophobia–we-cannot/ (Accessed at: 13 June 2016)