Primary and Secondary Sources

Primary Sources“Primary sources are original records created at the time historical events occurred or well after events in the form of memoirs and oral histories.”

Source: American Library Association, Reference and User Services Association

http://www.ala.org/rusa/sections/history/resources/pubs/usingprimarysources#evaluating

Examples of Primary SourcesLettersManuscriptsDiariesJournalsMemoirsAutobiographiesOral historiesInterviewsSpeeches

Newspapers*Government

documentsPhotographs*Maps*Video footage of

event*Audio recordingsResearch dataObjects or artifacts

* Usually, but not always, will be a primary source

Secondary Sources“A secondary source provides

‘second-hand’ information that has been digested, analyzed, reworded or interpreted, and often combines information taken from primary sources and even other secondary sources. Secondary sources

are often written well after the events they report on, and can put past information into its historical context.”

Source: Windward Community College Library, Hawaii http://library.wcc.hawaii.edu/LRU/evaluating/primarysecondary.html

Examples of Secondary SourcesBooks with

endnotes and footnotes

BiographiesReprints of

artworkA

journal/magazine article which interprets or reviews previous findings 

Conference proceedings

Literary criticismBook reviewsMost works

incorporating primary sources

Primary or Secondary Source?A letter written by an ordinary person describing their experience of an event.

This and all quiz questions from Windward Community College Library, Hawaii http://library.wcc.hawaii.edu/LRU/evaluating/primarysecondary.html

Primary or Secondary Source?A newspaper article reporting on events that took place the day before the article was published.

Primary or Secondary Source?Information sources such as raw data and articles that report on original research.

Primary or Secondary Source?A magazine article in which a staff reporter provides an overview of a topic, including a summary of recent developments in research related to the subject.

Primary or Secondary Source?An interview with your grandfather about your great-grandfather's childhood.

Quiz question from University of Massachusetts Libraryhttp://www1.umassd.edu/specialprograms/info_lit/quiz_ps.html

Primary or Secondary Source?A chart from a government agency's website, showing statistical data it gathered.

Primary or Secondary Source?Photograph of Gettysburg, 1863