A Google site search can be a great way to find relevant articles from specific online news sources. Type "site:news.com" into your search bar, replacing "news.com" with the URL of the site you want to search. Click "Tools" to the upper right of the search results. Use the drop-down menu under "Any time" and select "Custom Range" to select the dates within which you want to sample (see example screenshot below.) Google's algorithm may still bias recency, so you may need to section your date range and sample from each range individually.
While the popularity of Twitter has waned since its acquisition in 2022, the platform can be a great option for collecting a broad range of perspectives on a particular issue. Twitter does require an account to access most content on the site. Twitter has a robust advanced search feature that can be used to narrow down posts by keyword, hashtag, or date. Engagement filters (minimum likes, replies, or retweets) can also be helpful to limit your data to posts with a certain amount of reach or influence.
Students have used a wide variety of YouTube content as the basis for their capstone projects, from vlogs to movie trailers to sports highlights. YouTube comments can also be a great source for data from a general audience.
YouTube has some built-in filters for sorting and limiting search results. To limit results to a certain time you can use before:YEAR and after:YEAR (no spaces.)
While you can absolutely use these and other platforms to build your database, there may be a few limitations to consider. Both Meta platforms require login, and users are more likely to keep their accounts relatively private. TikTok's search tools are relatively limited. The platform is also facing a potential ban in the US, so if you want to use TikTok content, you may want to finalize your dataset early and save all videos offline.
Some hobbyist communities maintain independent, online collections of vintage or collectable ads. Many of these collections live in a legal gray area, so be careful if reproducing this content! If you have questions about a specific collection or category of ad, feel free to send Mary an email or set up an appointment.
YouTube is the most reliable source for modern video advertising. Many brands host their ads on their own channels, and some third-party channels may post ads as well. Be aware: third-party channels may be posting content they do not own the rights to, and the content may be taken down at any time.
Other helpful sources
