LibGuides: Research & Writing: Primary & Secondary Sources

Primary Source
Secondary Source

The original document, work of art, lab report, interview, etc. There has been no evaluation or interpretations of the material. It’s what research is based off of.

Examples:

Artifacts (e.g. coins, plant specimens, fossils, furniture, tools, clothing, all from the time under study);
Audio recordings (e.g. radio programs)
Diaries;
Internet communications on email, listservs;
Interviews (e.g., oral histories, telephone, e-mail);
Journal articles published in peer-reviewed publications;
Letters;
Newspaper articles written at the time;
Original Documents (i.e. birth certificate, will, marriage license, trial transcript);
Patents;
Photographs
Proceedings of Meetings, conferences and symposia;
Records of organizations, government agencies (e.g. annual report, treaty, constitution, government document);
Speeches;
Survey Research (e.g., market surveys, public opinion polls);
Video recordings (e.g. television programs);
Works of art, architecture, literature, and music (e.g., paintings, sculptures, musical scores, buildings, novels, poems).

http://www.lib.umd.edu/tl/guides/primary-sources#primary

Secondary sources are written about the primary sources. They are written after the fact, as commentary or discussion of the primary source.

Examples include:

Bibliographies;
Biographical works;
Commentaries, criticisms;
Dictionaries, Encyclopedias ;
Histories;
Journal articles;
Magazine and newspaper articles ;
Monographs, other than fiction and autobiography;
Textbooks;
Web site (also considered primary).

http://www.lib.umd.edu/tl/guides/primary-sources#secondary

Primary and Secondary Source Examples cont.

Primary Source	Secondary Source
Interview with person	Article about the interview
Painting	Commentary about the painting
Speeches by Martin Luther King Jr.	Biography about Martin Luther King Jr.
Quotes	Paraphrased quotes
Historical documents	History books

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Primary and Secondary Source Examples

Example	Primary	Secondary
Artwork	The artwork	An article, book, opinion about the artwork
Speech	The speech	Information about the speech. Commentary about the speech
Event	Photographs or videos of the event.	A report or article about the event.
Interview	Transcripts of the interview	An overview of the interview. An article or report about it.