A primary source is an original, first-hand account of an event or time period. It is usually written or created during or close to the time period under study. Primary sources are:
- Original, creative writing or works of art
- Factual, not interpretive
A secondary source is written sometime after the event occurred. This could be days later or centuries later. Secondary sources are:
- Provide analysis, interpretation, explanation, description and/or evaluation
- Are often based on primary sources.
Examples:
Primary Sources:
- diaries, letters and emails
- speeches, testimony and interviews
- some newspaper articles
- news film or video
- autobiographies
- statistics and raw data sets
- original scientific research
- legislative hearings and bills
- pictures and maps
- poetry, drama, novels, music and art
- artifacts such as jewelry, tombstones, furniture and clothing
Secondary Sources:
- textbooks
- encyclopedias
- literature reviews
- many magazine articles
- journal articles which are not primary reports of new research
- literary criticism of Hamlet
- reviews of books, movies, plays, etc.
- a book written in 1995 about the causes of the French Revolution
