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Primary Sources
Primary sources are are immediate, first-hand accounts of a topic, from people who had a direct connection with it.
Here are some examples:
- Texts of laws and other original documents
- Newspaper reports, by reporters who witnessed an event or who quote people who did
- Speeches, diaries, letters and interviews - what the people involved said or wrote
- Original research
- Datasets, survey data, such as census or economic statistics
- Photographs, video, or audio that capture an event
- Creative works such as art, music, video, photography
Secondary Sources
Secondary sources describe, summarize, or discuss information or details originally presented in another source.
They often include:
- Definitions of discipline specific terms
- History relating to the topic
- Significant theories and principles
- Summaries of major studies/events related to the topic
Here are some examples:
- Most books about a topic
- Analysis or interpretation of data
- Scholarly or other articles about a topic
- Documentaries (though they often include photos or video portions that can be considered primary sources)
- Book reviews Commentaries
Except where otherwise noted, content in these research guides is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
