Data Center College of the Philippines

College of Criminal Justice Education

Laoag City, 2900

Rea dings in Philippine history

Chapter 1: Meaning and Relevance of History

Lesson 2:Distinction of
Primary and Secondary
Sources
At the end of the unit, you should be able to:
• Differentiate primary sources from secondary sources;
• Define the different concepts related to primary and
secondary sources;
• Provide valid critical reasoning for primary vs. secondary
sources identification;
• Locate a primary or secondary source through a library or
internet challenge activity; and
• Participate actively from the different assigned task.
 Write words/concepts that are connected to the
_____ word sources.

_____ _____

SOURCES

_____ _____

_____
• Sources – an object from the past
or testimony concerning the past on
which historians depend in order to
create their own depiction of the
past.
• Tangible remains of the past.
a. Primary Sources
b. Secondary Sources
WRITTEN SOURCES
1. Published Materials
• Books, Magazines, Journals,
Travelogue, Transcription of Speech
2. Manuscript [Any handwritten or
typed record that has not been printed]
• Archival Materials, memoirs, diary
NON-WRITTEN SOURCES
• Oral History
• Artifacts
• Ruins
• Fossils
• Artworks
• Video recordings
• Audio recordings
• Testimony of an eyewitness.
• Those sources produced at the same time as
the event, period, or subject being studied.
• A primary source is a document or physical
object, which was written or created during
the time under study.
• Those sources were present during an
experience or time and offer an inside view of
particular event.
• Primary sources are characterized by their content,
regardless of whether they are available in original
format, microfilm/microfiche, in digital format, or
in published format.

• Four Main Categories of Primary Sources

1. Written Sources
2. Images
3. Artifacts
4. Oral Testimony
• Commonwealth Constitution Convention of 1935

Official Ballot

1935 Constitution

President Statement

Newspaper Clippings
• Those sources, which were
produced by an author who used
primary sources to produce
material.
• In other words, these are historical
sources, which studied historical
subject.
• Secondary source interprets and analyzes
primary sources. These sources are one or
more steps removed from the event.
• Secondary sources may have pictures,
quotes, or graphics of primary sources in
them.
• E.g., History textbook, printed
materials (serials, periodicals, which
interprets previous research)
• When evaluating primary or secondary sources, the
following questions might be asked to help ascertain
the nature and value of material being considered:
• How does the author know these details
(names, dates, and times)?
• Was the author present at the event or
soon on the scene?
• Where does this information come from –
personal experience, eyewitness accounts,
or reports written by others?
• When evaluating primary or secondary sources, the
following questions might be asked to help ascertain
the nature and value of material being considered:
• Are the author’s conclusion based on a
single piece of evidence, or have many
sources been taken into account (e.g.,
diary entries, along with third-party
eyewitness accounts, impressions of
contemporaries, newspaper accounts)?
• Are primary sources
always unbiased and
accurate?
• If someone in the future wanted to study
who were and what your life was like,
what primary and/or secondary sources
might they turn to?
 Data Center College of the Philippines
College of Criminal Justice Education
Laoag City, 2900

Thank You