https://ncu.libguides.

com/researchprocess/primaryandsecondary
Primary resources contain first-hand information, meaning that you are reading the author’s own account on a
specific topic or event that s/he participated in. Examples of primary resources include scholarly research articles,
books, and diaries. Primary sources such as research articles often do not explain terminology and theoretical
principles in detail. Thus, readers of primary scholarly research should have foundational knowledge of the subject
area. Use primary resources to obtain a first-hand account to an actual event and identify original research done in a
field. For many of your papers, use of primary resources will be a requirement.
Examples of a primary source are:

 Original documents such as diaries, speeches, manuscripts, letters, interviews, records, eyewitness
accounts, autobiographies
 Empirical scholarly works such as research articles, clinical reports, case studies, dissertations
 Creative works such as poetry, music, video, photography

Secondary Sources
Secondary sources describe, summarize, or discuss information or details originally presented in another source;
meaning the author, in most cases, did not participate in the event. This type of source is written for a broad audience
and will include definitions of discipline specific terms, history relating to the topic, significant theories and principles,
and summaries of major studies/events as related to the topic. Use secondary sources to obtain an overview of a
topic and/or identify primary resources. Refrain from including such resources in an annotated bibliography for
doctoral level work unless there is a good reason.
Examples of a secondary source are:

 Publications such as textbooks, magazine articles, book reviews, commentaries, encyclopedias, almanacs

https://www.scribbr.com/citing-sources/primary-and-secondary-sources/

Primary and secondary sources

Date published June 20, 2018 by Raimo. Date updated: January 11, 2019

Primary sources (e.g. interviews, surveys and statistical data) are first-hand and considered
authoritative, while secondary sources (e.g. literature reviews, documentaries, books) analyze,
interpret, evaluate and synthesize primary information.

Secondary sources or further removed from the event being described and are therefore
considered less credible and reliable.

1.

What is a primary source?

Primary sources are the original evidence of certain events, objects, persons or work. They
enable students and researchers to get as close as possible to the actual event. The information in
primary sources has not yet been analyzed, summarized or interpreted, which gives you the
opportunity to do so yourself.
Examples of primary sources are:

 Experiment results
 Statistical data
 Eyewitness accounts
 Surveys and interviews
 Legal documents

Primary source example 1:

Imagine a historical event that you are researching – say the moon landing. Of course, you can’t go back in time and
experience the event yourself, so you decide to start looking for eyewitness reports, photographs, and videos taken
that day. These are examples of primary sources, because they are the closest, most original accounts of the actual
historic event.
Primary source example 2:
A professor is researching the study habits of college students. He uses a survey to gather data and conducts
interviews with college students. The professor reports his findings and publishes them in a journal. This research is
considered a primary source because it includes the original raw data, without any outside interpretation.

What is a secondary source?

A secondary source interprets, analyzes and/or explains primary sources. These sources are one
or more steps removed from the original event and therefore sometimes lack the immediacy of
the original content.

Some examples of secondary sources include:

 Literature reviews
 Opinion pieces
 Documentaries
 Television broadcasts
 Books

Secondary source example 1:

A filmmaker decides to make a documentary about the moon landing. He analyzes, interprets and explains the
original primary source evidence, such as the photographs and eyewitness reports we mentioned earlier. This
documentary is considered a secondary source, because it’s one step removed from the primary source.
Secondary source example 2:
A student decides to write a paper on the study habits of students, just like the professor did in the earlier example.
While doing research, the student finds the article published by the professor and decides to use it in his literature
review, along with some other articles. The student interprets and compares the professor’s article to other
publications. The student’s paper is considered a secondary source because it’s based upon and interprets the
primary source (i.e. the article published by the professor).
Primary and secondary source examples
Academic Primary source Secondary source
discipline

Art Painting by Van Gogh Exhibition catalog explaining and interpreting

the painting

Graphics Movie Movie review

Science Empirical study Literature review describing the study

Journalism Newspaper from World War II Thesis exploring the media coverage of World
War II

History Ancient object from the Middle Ages Museum catalog describing the ancient
object

Music Song Song review

Economy Autobiography by Warren Buffett Third-party book about Warren Buffet

Biology Original research about how the brain Blog post about the findings of this research
functions

Mathematics Research on new mathematical models to Book explaining and teaching these
calculate a rocket launch mathematical models

Engineering Patent Article about this patent and its applications

Law Declaration of Independence Documentary about the creation of the

Declaration of Independence
Questions to ask yourself
To help you determine whether a source is primary or secondary, there are some
simple questions you can ask yourself:

 Was the source created at the time and/or location of the event or time period?
(e.g. a photograph of the moon landing)
 Was the person who created the source directly involved in the event or time
period
 Does the source provide an outlet for persons who were directly involved in the
event or time period to share their story?
 Is the source a piece of art, a work of literature, a film created by or starring your
subject of study, or a photograph?
 Is the source a legal document, an original collection of data or statistics, or a
personal communication?

If the answer to any of these questions is yes, then it’s most likely a primary source.

https://libguides.umflint.edu/idinfosources/primarysecondary

Primary vs. Secondary Sources

Primary sources are the original documents of an event or discovery such as results of research, experiments or
surveys, interviews, letters, diaries, legal documents, and scientific journal articles. Primary sources are also records
of events as they are first described.
Some examples of primary sources are:

 diaries and letters

 academic articles reporting NEW data and findings
 works of literature (poems, novels, plays, etc.)
 works of fine art (paintings, sculpture, pottery, music etc.)
 official records from a government, judicial court, or company
 maps
 oral histories
 speeches
 autobiographies
 fictional films and documentaries
 eyewitness new reports*

*Newspaper articles that report on a recent event can be primary sources, but articles that rehash previous events
are not primary sources, unless they add new information to the story.
Secondary sources offer an analysis or a restatement of an event or discovery described in primary sources. They
interpret, explain or summarize primary sources. Some secondary sources are used to persuade the reader.
Secondary sources may be considered less objective.
Examples of secondary sources include:

 dictionaries
 encyclopedias
  textbooks
 articles and editorials that interpret or review research works**

**Many academic articles include short literature reviews to establish a starting place or a jumping off point for their
own, original research; these are still considered primary sources. However, articles that only review previously
published articles and contain no new research are secondary sources; these articles are called systematic
literature reviews and can be good sources of information about the state of research on a certain topic.

https://www.library.unsw.edu.au/study/information-resources/primary-and-secondary-sources

Primary and secondary sources

Primary sources provide a first-hand account of an event or time period and are considered to be authoritative. They
represent original thinking, reports on discoveries or events, or they can share new information. Often these sources
are created at the time the events occurred but they can also include sources that are created later. They are usually
the first formal appearance of original research.

Secondary sources involve analysis, synthesis, interpretation, or evaluation of primary sources. They often attempt
to describe or explain primary sources.

Scholarly journals, although generally considered to be secondary sources, often contain articles on very specific
subjects and may be the primary source of information on new developments.

Primary and secondary categories are often not fixed and depend on the study or research you are undertaking. For
example, newspaper editorial/opinion pieces can be both primary and secondary. If exploring how an event affected
people at a certain time, this type of source would be considered a primary source. If exploring the event, then the
opinion piece would be responding to the event and therefore is considered to be a secondary source.

Primary sources
Examples of primary resources include:

 diaries, correspondence, ships' logs

 original documents e.g. birth certificates, trial transcripts
 biographies, autobiographies, manuscripts
 interviews, speeches, oral histories
 case law, legislation, regulations, constitutions
 government documents, statistical data, research reports
 a journal article reporting NEW research or findings
 creative art works, literature
  newspaper advertisements and reportage and editorial/opinion pieces

Primary sources can be found using:

 Library collection
 Databases - choose type Primary Source from the All Database Types drop down list
 Primary sources for history subject guide

Secondary sources
Secondary sources offer an analysis, interpretation or a restatement of primary sources and are considered to be
persuasive. They often involve generalisation, synthesis, interpretation, commentary or evaluation in an attempt to
convince the reader of the creator's argument. They often attempt to describe or explain primary sources.

Examples of secondary sources include:

 journal articles that comment on or analyse research

 textbooks
 dictionaries and encyclopaedias
 books that interpret, analyse
 political commentary
 biographies
 dissertations
 newspaper editorial/opinion pieces
 criticism of literature, art works or music