PRIMARY

SOURCES
IN HISTORY
“A primary source is a historical document or artifact created during a particular period of
time. Unlike secondary sources, which are secondhand accounts of historical events,
primary sources provide researchers with information directly from the time period being
studied. Examples of primary sources include letters, which often provide key details
about everyday life; paintings, which, for example, can demonstrate the styles of clothing
worn by people who lived at the time the paintings were created; and flms, which
frequently shed light on the cultural attitudes of the eras in which they were made.”
Crelin, J. (2020). Primary source. Salem Press Encyclopedia.
https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=shib&db=ers&AN=90558435&site=eds-live&scope=site&custid=s8856897.

Primary Source Examples

Personal accounts
Diaries, journals, letters, memoirs,
autobiographies, speeches, or oral histories

Political, legal, and government

documents of the time period
Congressional records, presidential papers,
speeches, court rulings, and census or tax records

News sources from the time period

Newspapers, news reports, and newsreels

Creative works from the time period

Art, literature, novels, audio and
video recordings, and photographs

Relics, artifacts, and objects

Pottery, furniture, clothing, and buildings

Geographical information
from the time period
Atlases and maps

SECONDARY
2 3

SOURCES Pyramids

IN HISTORY
Secondary sources are things that are written about primary sources. They comment
on, interpret, or analyze primary sources. The creators of secondary sources are at
least one step removed from the events described in primary sources, since they
were not there to witness the events themselves.

Secondary Source Examples

Scholarly journal articles
Articles that interpret or review previous TEXT BIOGRAPHY
findings or historical events BOOK

Articles from magazines,

journals, and newspapers
published after the event

Biographies JOURNAL MAGAZINE REVIEW

Books and textbooks

published after the event
History books and other popular
or scholarly books

Reviews, works of criticism THESIS

and, interpretation

Dissertations and theses

Library