College professors often require that their students use primary sources in their research assignments and papers. They want their students to learn to assess evidence for themselves rather than viewing an issue/event/person through the eyes of other researchers. The following definitions and examples can help in making the determination whether a source is primary or secondary (or even tertiary).
I. Primary
Primary sources are variously defined as:
· Information in its original form when it first appears;
· Materials closest to the events or people being researched;
· Evidence provided directly by an observer of an event;
· Original works of art or literature;
· Original documents;
· Objects that came into existence during the period that is being studied.
Primary sources have not been put into a context, interpreted, filtered, condensed, or evaluated by anyone else. A primary source may be a reprint of an original document, such as the United States Constitution, as long as nothing has been changed or added.
Examples of primary sources (list not exhaustive):
News articles based on direct observation |
Handwritten manuscripts |
Baptismal or death records |
Reports based on direct observation |
Musical scores or recordings |
Maps |
Interviews or surveys |
Legislative bills, laws, debates, or other historical documents |
Films, TV shows, videotapes, or webcasts |
Letters, memoirs, diaries, journals, or autobiographies |
Government publications |
Photographs |
Speeches |
Court records |
Folk songs |
Short stories, novels, essays, or poetry |
Diplomatic dispatches |
Language |
E-mails, blogs, or other electronic postings |
Police reports |
Buildings or household and everyday objects |
First publication of a scientific study |
Advertisements |
Telephone books |
Laboratory studies |
Minutes of organizations |
Inscriptions |
Field research reports |
Business records |
Works of art |
II. Secondary
Secondary sources are materials based on primary sources. They contain description, analysis, and interpretation of the primary source information or of other secondary sources. Secondary sources restate, rearrange, or examine information from one or more primary sources. Secondary sources can lead you to primary information.
Secondary sources include the following:
· Newspaper or magazine feature articles not based on observed events;
· Biographies (as opposed to autobiographies);
· Materials such as books that summarize, synthesize, analyze, or make an argument based on primary sources;
· Critiques or reviews of events, literary works, works of art, or performances;
· Articles reporting on scientific studies;
· Classmate’s notes on a professor’s lecture.
III. Tertiary
Tertiary sources are even further removed from the original information than a secondary source. For example, many textbooks are researched and written using only secondary sources. This is also true of general encyclopedia articles. Bibliographies and indexes are other examples of tertiary sources, which lead to both primary and secondary sources.
Works Consulted
Furay, C., & Salevouris, M.J. (2000). The methods and skills of history: A practical guide (2nd ed.). Wheeling, IL: Harlan Davidson.
Hacker, D. (2006). The Bedford handbook (7th ed.). Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s.
Palmquist, M. (2003). The Bedford researcher. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's.
Weidenborner, S., Caruso, D., & Parks, G. (2005). Writing research papers: A guide to the process (7th ed.). Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's.