Primary or Secondary?Identifying Primary Sources

Santa Barbara City College Luria LibraryEllen CareyFall 2016

Primary or Secondary?It depends on factors such as:•your specific research question •the way you are using the source•how long it has been since the source was published

Remember:•some books, articles, videos, etc. include both sections that are primary sources and sections that are secondary sources

Topic: What are the consequences, professionally and in terms of public opinion, for athletes who are racist?

Source: A news story about athletes who have been expelled from the Olympics for racist tweets

Secondary source

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/olympics/london/soccer/story/2012-07-30/swiss-athlete-banned-michel-morganella-olympics/56591966/1

Topic: What are the consequences, professionally and in terms of public opinion, for athletes who are racist?

Source: The racist tweet for which an athlete was expelled from the Olympics

Primary source

Topic: What are the consequences, professionally and in terms of public opinion, for athletes who are racist?

Source: An email from a spectator at the Olympics, to her friends back home, about how people around her reacted to athletes getting expelled from the games for racist tweets

Primary source

Topic: What are the consequences, professionally and in terms of public opinion, for athletes who are racist?

Source: A Facebook post, by an Olympic spectator’s friend back home, about what is going on at the Olympics

Secondary source

Your topic: How has public opinion about interracial marriage changed over time?

Your source: A newspaper article from 2013, about interracial marriage becoming more mainstream

Secondary source

http://libproxy.sbcc.edu:2048/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/1443987176?accountid=28576

Your topic: How has public opinion about interracial marriage changed over time?

Your source: A newspaper article from 1893, about Southern interracial marriage laws

Primary source

http://dbs.ohiohistory.org/africanam/page1.cfm?ItemID=17772

Your topic: How has public opinion about interracial marriage changed over time?

Your source: An interview with an interracial couple, the Lovings, about how their families and communities have responded to them over the past 40 years

Primary sourcehttp://iipdigital.usembassy.gov/st/english/inbrief/2012/06/201206087068.html#axzz27MdEFQDr

Your topic: How has public opinion about interracial marriage changed over time?

Your source: The 2016 feature film about the Lovings

Secondary sourcehttp://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcR6fWfYlxUq9-d353F4dxxnjh-1Tfmy_86KkCVFqZmQN6x9Cqyn

Your topic: To what degree do the images of black people in the media differ depending on gender and class?

Your source: An interview with the author of a book about media stereotypes of African Americans

Secondary sourcehttp://www.soros.org/voices/black-male-image-american-mind

Your topic: To what degree do the images of black people in the media differ depending on gender and class?

Your sources: Media images

Primary sources

http://www.crownheights.info/index.php?blogid=1&archive=2008-07&catid=23

http://www.newser.com/tag/3970/2/stereotypes.html

Topic: What are the personal and political implications of black women’s choices about their hair?

Source: A video on YouTube in which a woman provides tips for dealing with the practical and emotional aspects of transitioning hair from relaxed to natural

Primary source

http://youtu.be/nr8GbJNJ2jM

Your topic: What are the personal and political implications of black women’s choices about their hair?

Your source: A video of a segment called “The Politics of Black Hair” from Melissa Harris-Perry’s show on MSNBC

Secondary source…. http://video.msnbc.msn.com/melissa-harris-perry/47755433#47755433

… and Primary source

when the participants are speaking as experts on politics and culture when the participants are

speaking about their own experience as black women

More ExamplesPrimary sources:evidence of history & culture

Secondary sources:interpretation of history & culture

PhotographsMoviesPlaysWorks of artSongsRecipesLettersDiariesAutobiographiesMemoirsOral historiesSpeechesBirth/death certificatesLand deedsGovernment documentsLive news footageInterviews (usually)

Scholarly articlesPolitical analysesBiographiesTextbooksReference booksLiterary criticismReviews of art/movies/music (usually)News articles/broadcasts other than

first-person accounts (usually)

Remember: some secondary sources can be used as primary sources if you are using them as historical artifacts (for example, using a scholarly article from 1907 about interracial marriage as an example of racism among scholars during the early 20th century)