Primary & Secondary Resources
PRIMARY SOURCES
Primary sources are original materials. They are from the time period involved
and have not been filtered through interpretation or evaluation. Primary
sources are original materials on which other research is based. They are
usually the first formal appearance of results in physical, print or electronic
format. They present original thinking, report a discovery, or share new
information.
Examples include:
Artifacts (e.g. coins, plant specimens, fossils, furniture, tools, clothing,
all from the time under study)
Audio recordings (e.g. radio programs)
Diaries
Internet communications on email, discussion groups
Interviews (e.g., oral histories, telephone, e-mail)
Journal articles published in peer-reviewed publications
Letters
Newspaper articles written at the time
Original Documents (i.e. birth certificate, will, marriage license, trial
transcript)
Patents
Photographs
Proceedings of Meetings, conferences and symposia
Records of organizations, government agencies (e.g. annual report,
treaty, constitution, government document)
Speeches
Survey Research (e.g., market surveys, public opinion polls)
Video recordings (e.g. television programs)
Works of art, architecture, literature, and music (e.g., paintings,
sculptures, musical scores, buildings, novels, poems)
Web site
Primary sources are considered the most reliable source, and should be
included in your IA's and EE.
But the majority of your sources will be...
SECONDARY SOURCES
Secondary sources are less easily defined than primary sources. Generally,
they are accounts written after the fact with the benefit of hindsight. They are
interpretations and evaluations of primary sources. Secondary sources are
not evidence, but rather commentary on and discussion of evidence.
However, what some define as a secondary source, others define as a tertiary
source. Context is everything.
Examples include:
Bibliographies (also considered tertiary)
Biographical works
Commentaries, criticisms
Dictionaries, Encyclopedias (also considered tertiary)
Histories
Journal articles (depending on the disciple can be primary)
Magazine and newspaper articles (this distinction varies by discipline)
Monographs, other than fiction and autobiography
Textbooks (also considered tertiary)
Web site (also considered primary)
Primary sources are original materials. They are from the time period involved
and have not been filtered through interpretation or evaluation. Primary
sources are original materials on which other research is based. They are
usually the first formal appearance of results in physical, print or electronic
format. They present original thinking, report a discovery, or share new
information.
Examples include:
Artifacts (e.g. coins, plant specimens, fossils, furniture, tools, clothing,
all from the time under study)
Audio recordings (e.g. radio programs)
Diaries
Internet communications on email, discussion groups
Interviews (e.g., oral histories, telephone, e-mail)
Journal articles published in peer-reviewed publications
Letters
Newspaper articles written at the time
Original Documents (i.e. birth certificate, will, marriage license, trial
transcript)
Patents
Photographs
Proceedings of Meetings, conferences and symposia
Records of organizations, government agencies (e.g. annual report,
treaty, constitution, government document)
Speeches
Survey Research (e.g., market surveys, public opinion polls)
Video recordings (e.g. television programs)
Works of art, architecture, literature, and music (e.g., paintings,
sculptures, musical scores, buildings, novels, poems)
Web site
Primary sources are considered the most reliable source, and should be
included in your IA's and EE.
But the majority of your sources will be...
SECONDARY SOURCES
Secondary sources are less easily defined than primary sources. Generally,
they are accounts written after the fact with the benefit of hindsight. They are
interpretations and evaluations of primary sources. Secondary sources are
not evidence, but rather commentary on and discussion of evidence.
However, what some define as a secondary source, others define as a tertiary
source. Context is everything.
Examples include:
Bibliographies (also considered tertiary)
Biographical works
Commentaries, criticisms
Dictionaries, Encyclopedias (also considered tertiary)
Histories
Journal articles (depending on the disciple can be primary)
Magazine and newspaper articles (this distinction varies by discipline)
Monographs, other than fiction and autobiography
Textbooks (also considered tertiary)
Web site (also considered primary)