Sources
SFS honors theses are expected to include
- evidence of serious use of primary sources, AND/OR
- a superior understanding and exploration of an important conceptual issue.
The definition of and need for "primary sources" depend on the subject of the thesis. Primary sources might include:
- legal, philosophical or other texts;
- historical archives or other document collections;
- works of art and literature in original languages (or, where appropriate, in translation);
- scientific papers and technological sources;
- cultural artifacts;
- economic, survey or other statistical data;
- interviews conducted by the student;
- newspaper or other first-hand accounts of events;
- memoirs;
- websites and business records.
In fields that are more conceptual than empirical in their orientation, primary sources may be less important than insightful and disciplined reasoning, along with good use of existing secondary sources.
