Primary and Secondary Sources

1. Primary and Secondary Sources 8th L.A. Research

2. Learning Targets • I understand the difference between primary and secondary sources. • I can identify possible primary sources for my research project.

3. What is a Source? • A book, statement, person, magazine, etc., supplying information.

4. What is the Difference Between Primary and Secondary Sources?

5. Primary Sources • Documents or objects written or created during the time being studied • Offer an inside view of a particular event

6. Examples of Primary Sources • Diaries • Autobiographies • Speeches • Letters • Interviews • News film footage • Official records • Photographs of an event

7. Secondary Sources • Interpret or analyze primary sources • Are one step removed from the actual event

8. Examples of Secondary Sources • Magazine articles • Newspaper articles • Encyclopedia articles • Textbooks

9. Primary vs. Secondary • Primary: • The poem “Field Work” by Seamus Heaney • Secondary: • A review of the poem “Field Work” by George Cusack in New Hibernia Review (2002 Autumn), pp. 53-72.

10. Primary vs. Secondary • Primary: • The text of Barack Obama’s speech • Secondary: • A 2004 editorial in The New York Times entitled "Everybody Loves Obama”

11. Practice…Primary or Secondary? #1) The lyrics to “Rolling in the Deep” by Adele. #2) An article in Spin magazine about Adele. #3) An interview in Rolling Stone with Adele. #4) A war correspondent’s article about a battle in Baghdad that he witnessed. #5) A government report on childhood obesity in the United States.

12. Practice…Primary or Secondary? #1) The lyrics to “Rolling in the Deep” by Adele. • PRIMARY #2) An article in Spin magazine about Adele. • SECONDARY #3) An interview in Rolling Stone with Adele. • PRIMARY #4) A war correspondent’s article about a battle in Baghdad that he witnessed. • PRIMARY #5) A government report on childhood obesity in the United States. • PRIMARY

13. Requirement • You must include at least one primary source in your final project • These could include • An interview • A government report • A published research study • Statistics from a census report