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Types of Sources: Primary, Secondary, Tertiary

Types of Sources: Primary, Secondary, Tertiary. Stacy Hartlage Taylor Created October 2010. What is a Primary Source?. Contemporary Accounts of an event written by the person who witnessed or experienced it. FIRST HAND!

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Types of Sources: Primary, Secondary, Tertiary

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  1. Types of Sources: Primary, Secondary, Tertiary Stacy Hartlage TaylorCreated October 2010

  2. What is a Primary Source? • Contemporary Accounts of an event written by the person who witnessed or experienced it. FIRST HAND! • Original Documents, Unpublished – not about another document or account • Published works - as long as they are written soon after the fact and not as historical accounts • “the leavings, the shards, the remnants of people who once lived and don't live any more”—from A definition of a Primary Source at http://www.lib.washington.edu/subject/history/historyday/his.html

  3. Diaries Letters Memoirs Autobiographies Journals Speeches Manuscripts Statistical Data Eye-witness accounts Artifacts (material objects, i. e. clothing) Interviews Photographs Audio or video recordings / music or film Research reports (natural or social sciences) Original literary or theatrical works / poems Types of Primary Sources

  4. Secondary Sources • accounts written after the fact with the benefit of hindsight; interpretations and evaluations and commentaries of and about primary sources • Interpret primary sources - at least one step removed from the event or phenomenon under review • Examination of studies that other researchers have made of a subject • Second Hand - conveys the experiences and opinions of others

  5. Types of Secondary Sources • Usually in the form of published works • Radio and TV documentaries • Biographies • Books and journal articles about political issues, historical events, scientific debates, or literary works • Books and journal articles that are interpretations and analysis of data rather than the data itself

  6. What are Tertiary Sources? Tertiary sources are collections of materials; these sources often use several primary and / or secondary sources to compile the information. • Dictionaries • Encyclopedias • History books • Guide books • Manuals • Textbooks • Bibliographies • Almanacs

  7. How do you know? • How does the author know these details? • Was the author present at the event or soon on the scene? • Where does this information come from—personal experience, eyewitness accounts, or reports written by others? • Are the author's conclusions based on a single piece of evidence, or have many sources been taken into account?

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