Analysis

Almost all of the types of sources mentioned above—corroborative, contrastive, contextualising, and containing definitions, data, statistics, or facts—will ultimately be analytical in nature. As we have discussed, no matter how you are using a source, you will need to take its interpretive elements into consideration. However, can a source be used primarily for its analysis?

Analytical material will certainly be useful to you, and you are encouraged to draw on it. Yet such material can cause problems when used in certain ways. The next section will go into more detail about how to incorporate other authors’ analysis while still ensuring that your argument remains your own.