Primary vs. Secondary Sources

 

Primary Sources

• Contemporary Accounts of an event written by the person who witnessed or experienced it. FIRST HAND!
  
  
• Original Documents, Unpublished – not about another document or account
  
• Published works - as long as they are written soon after the fact and not as historical accounts
  

Primary Sources

Include:

• Diaries Interviews
  
• Letters Photographs
  
• Memoirs Audio or video recordings
  
• Journals Research reports (natural or social sciences)
  
• Speeches Original literary or theatrical works
  
• Manuscripts
  
• Statistical Data
  

Secondary Sources

• Interpret primary sources - at least one step removed from the event or phenomenon under review
  
• Examination of studies that other researchers have made of a subject
  
• Second Hand - conveys the experiences and opinions of others
  
• Usually in the form of published works
  
  • Journal articles
    
  • Books
    
  • Radio and TV documentaries
    

How do you know?

• Ask yourself some questions:
  
  • How does the author know these details?
    
  • Was the author present at the event or soon on the scene?
    
  • Where does this information come from—personal experience, eyewitness accounts, or reports written by others?
    
  • Are the author's conclusions based on a single piece of evidence, or have many sources been taken into account?
    
• For further details click links below.
  http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/TeachingLib/Guides/PrimarySources.html
  

http://www.library.utoronto.ca/gerstein/tutorial/primary_research1.html