About Primary Sources
Primary sources are first-hand accounts of an event or topic, and might be created:
- At the time of or during the event, such as letters, photographs, artefacts, novels, and recordings
- After the time or event, such as oral histories, newspaper and journal articles, memoirs/autobiographies
Primary Sources Examples
- Original research - results of experiments, interviews, questionnaires, studies, surveys, archaeological digs
- Personal works - diaries, letters, memoirs, autobiographies, speeches, journal articles & theses reporting original research
- Government records - parliamentary proceedings, bills, acts, treaties, census data, court transcripts
- Corporate records - annual reports, account books, emails, invoices, purchase orders, minutes
- Works of literature - novels, plays, poetry, short stories
- Art and artefacts - paintings, sculptures, photographs, coins, objects
- Journal articles reporting original research (eg. results of experiments, interviews, questionnaires, studies, surveys, archaeological digs)
- Original audio and video recordings - feature films, news footage, performances
- Music - notated (print), recorded
- Other - advertisements, data files, maps, newspaper reports “from the field,” patents, posters, and public opinion polls
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Secondary sources are based on information found in primary sources. They may present arguments, interpretations, conclusions, or summaries. Secondary sources may include:
- Biographies (not autobiographies), books (textbooks, literary criticism)
- Editorials and commentaries, reviews
- Encyclopedia and dictionary entries
- Literature reviews, journal articles or theses that are not reporting original research
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Primary & Secondary Interchangeability Based on Usage
How you use an item may determine whether it is a primary or a secondary resource. In order to categorize it, think about how the resource is relevant to your work. eg.
- A history textbook from 1867 might be used as a primary source for a study of confederation-era textbooks (since it is one), or as a secondary source for an essay on the history of Ancient Greece (since that’s what it’s about)
- A documentary on the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) might be used for its primary material (interviews with soldiers), or its secondary material (the voice-over commentary)
