United States History: Primary vs. Secondary Sources

Primary Sources

• A document or artistic work, speech, video or image
• First hand evidence of an event, person or item
• Created close to the time of a referenced event

Primary Sources Include

• Written, audio or video account by an eyewitness
• A report written close to the time of an incident
• An artistic creation such as a poem, play, painting, dance, piece of music or other performance
• Materials such as diaries, letters, postcards, or advertisements
• Scientific and statistical evidence, case studies
• Maps and photographs
• Patents, architectural and schematic drawings or models

Secondary Sources

• Describe, summarize or analyze information
• Discuss information originally presented elsewhere
• Second-hand account written after an event
• Utilize primary sources
• Are usually written by "experts"

Secondary Sources Include

• Reviews of a performance or object
• Articles that interpret or review research works
• Books excluding autobiographies and memoirs

Tertiary Sources

• Based upon or summarize secondary sources
• Usually don't utilize primary sources
• No original research by the author(s)
• Usually have "editors" rather than "authors"

Tertiary Sources Include

• Dictionaries, encyclopedias, indexes, textbooks
• Directories and almanacs
• Guidebooks and manuals
• Chronologies and abstracts