Primary & Secondary Sources

By: Deborah Kallina

Learning Objectives

Identify “primary source”

Identify “secondary source”

Explain the difference between them

Three Characteristics of a Primary Source

(1)original source that was created during the time being studied or created at a later date by a participant in the event being studied

Three Characteristics of a Primary Source

(2) enables you to get as close as possible to what actually happened during an historical event ortime period

Three Characteristics of a Primary Source

(3)reflects the viewpoint of a participant or observer, as in the case of historic newspapers

Primary Sources Examples

autobiographies, memoirs letters, diaries, books, novels

Primary Sources Examples

newspapers, magazines, pamphlets

Primary Sources Examples

speeches, manuscripts, maps

Primary Sources Examples

artwork paintings sculpture poetry sheet music

Primary Sources Examples

daguerreotypes & photographs archives & artifacts

Primary Sources Examples

business records court records church records government records congressional hearings census records

Primary Sources Examples

research data, statistics interviews, public opinion polls movies, videos, DVDs video & audio recordings images, cartoons, advertisements

Secondary Sources - Are they important?

Yes! Even though secondary sources are not firsthand, they allow you to build your research on the research of other scholars!

Three Characteristics of a Secondary Source

(1) second-hand source,not the original source,such as a scholarly journal

Three Characteristics of a Secondary Source

(2)a scholar analyzesan historical event ortime period, then draws conclusionsabout it

Three Characteristics of a Secondary Source

(3)a scholar usesprimary sources andthe research of othersto interpret andcomment on the past

Secondary Sources Examples

biographies, textbooks reference books encyclopedias, dictionaries scholarly articles & books  popular books & articles

Let’s Do a Quick Review

What’s the difference between a primary

source and a secondary source?

Difference betweenPrimary & Secondary

Sources

Primary: Original Source the “topic”

Secondary: Second-Hand Source analysis of the “topic”

Difference may be difficult to determine

American history textbook is a secondary source

Reprint of U.S. Constitution in the history textbook is a primary source

One last point to consider…

Can primary & secondary sourcessometimes contain bias and

be subjective?

Bias in Primary Sources & Secondary Sources?

Primary & Secondary Sources are the viewpoint or memory of either a participant or observer… so

Yes, sometimes they are subjective and contain bias.

Test Yourself - Primary Sources?

original painting?

diary by a Vietnam Veteran?

an autobiography?

Test Yourself - Primary Sources?

original painting? Yes

diary by a Vietnam Veteran? Yes

an autobiography? Yes

Test Yourself - Secondary Sources?

scholarly review of Toni Morrison’s Beloved?

encyclopedia?

history textbook?

Test Yourself - Secondary Sources?

scholarly review of Toni Morrison’s Beloved? Yes

encyclopedia Yes

history textbook Yes

Primary Sources & Secondary Sources

Any questions?

Congratulations!

Now you know the difference between

primary & secondary sources

Check out the recommended websites for primary sources:

Good luck on your research!

Discover the wealth of historical information at:

Library of Congress Research and Reference Services http://www.loc.gov/rr/ and the

Library of Congress American Memory Project http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/index.html

References for Primary and Secondary Sources Information

University of California Berkeley http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/instruct/guides/primarysources.html

University of West Florida Librarieshttp://library.uwf.edu/Research/OnlineTutorials/SourceTypes/

List of References for Images used in this tutorialReferences Primary Secondary Sources Images.pdf