Library: Primary Sources: About Primary Sources

Different Levels of Sources

A primary source is "a document or physical object which was written or created during the time under study. These sources were present during an experience or time period and offer an inside view of a particular event."
"Secondary sources are theoretical or critical texts which are part of the professional wisdom on or related to your primary object of study."

Primary	Secondary
An original, "firsthand" or "eyewitness" account offering an inside view.	"Secondhand" information.
Contains new information (new at the time it was created, that is) that has not been interpreted, evaluated, paraphrased, or condensed.	Contains information that has been digested, analyzed, reworded, or interpreted and usually combines information taken from primary sources.
Usually created during (or very close to) the time of the events on which they report.	*Often written well after* the events reported on**; may put past information in its historical context.
Author typically provides direct impressions of events on which they are reporting.	Author typically reports on the *impressions and experiences of other* people**.

most non-fiction books, including textbooks, history books, and reference books like encyclopedias
magazine and journal articles that only review or interpret previous research or events.

Scholars conduct new research based, in part, on the findings of prior research. For this reason, scholarly journal articles usually have secondary information (summarizing previous research) and primary information (the new information the scholar found by doing new research).

advertisements
artifacts (clothing, currency, furniture, jewelry, musical instruments, pottery, textiles, weapons, etc.)
autobiographies
buildings/architectural landmarks
census records
charters
charts/graphs
correspondence
diaries/journals
dissertations
documentary film/video
drawings/cartoons
edicts
fiction/novels
government documents (official text of laws, investigative reports, legislative hearings, etc.)
immigration records
inscriptions
interviews
ledgers/financial documents
legal documents/court records
letters
maps
manuscripts
memoirs
music scores
news film footage
newspaper reports (firsthand)
official records
oral histories
paintings
pamphlets
personal narratives
photographs
plays
poetry
religious texts
research data
sheet music
shipsʻ logs
sound recordings (music or spoken word)
speeches
tablets