Primary vs. Secondary Sources

Primary Sources

Primary sources are the "materials on a topic upon which subsequent interpretations or studies are based, anything from first hand documents such as poems, diaries, court records, and interviews to research results generated by experiments, surveys, ethnographies, and so on."*

Primary sources are records of events as they are first described, without any interpretation or commentary. They are also sets of data, such as census statistics, which have been tabulated, but not interpreted.

Secondary Sources

Secondary sources, on the other hand, offer an analysis or a restatement of primary sources. They often attempt to describe or explain primary sources. Some secondary sources not only analyze primary sources, but use them to argue a contention or to persuade the reader to hold a certain opinion.

Examples of secondary sources include: dictionaries, encyclopedias, textbooks, and books and articles that interpret or review research works.

Examples of primary and secondary sources:

Primary Source Secondary Source

Art Original artwork Article critiquing the piece of art

History Slave diary Book about the Underground Railroad

Literature Poem Treatise on a particular genre of poetry

Political Science Treaty Essay on Native American land rights

Theatre Videotape of a performance Biography of a playwright

If you are unsure of what would be considered a primary source for your particular project, ask your teacher for examples. The following is an incomplete list of things that might be considered primary sources by different academic disciplines.

Anthropologyartifact, field notes, fossil, photograph

Artarchitectural model or drawing, building or structure, letter, motion picture, organizational records, painting, personal account, photograph, print, sculpture, sketch book

Biologyfield notes, plant specimen, research report

Economicscompany statistics, consumer survey, data series

Engineeringbuilding or structure, map, geological survey, patent, schematic drawing, technical report

Governmentgovernment report, interview, letter, news report, personal account, press release, public opinion survey, speech, treaty or international agreement

Historyartifact, diary, government report, interview, letter, map, news report, oral history, organizational records, photograph, speech, work of art

Lawcode, statute, court opinion, legislative report

Literaturecontemporary review, interview, letter, manuscript, personal account, published work

Musiccontemporary review, letter, personal account, score, sound recording

Psychologycase study, clinical case report, experimental replication, follow-up study, longitudinal study, treatment outcome study

Sociologycultural artifact, interview, oral history, organizational records, statistical data, survey