The following tab provides a short video tutorial to explain how best to distinguish between primary and secondary sources. Feel free to use as you conduct research for this assignment and future assignments. With all research sources, it is most important to read laterally and examine all citations for credibility.
Primary Sources are:
Secondary Sources are:
| Primary Sources | Secondary Sources |
|---|---|
|
Autobiographies and memoirs |
Bibliographies |
| Diaries, personal letters, and correspondence |
Biographical works |
|
Interviews, surveys, and fieldwork |
Reference books, including dictionaries, encyclopedias, and atlases |
|
Internet communications on email, blogs, listservs, and newsgroups |
Articles from magazines, journals, and newspapers written after the event took place |
| Photographs, drawings, and posters |
Literature reviews and review articles (e.g., movie reviews, book reviews) |
|
Works of art and literature |
History books and other popular or scholarly books |
|
Magazine and newspaper articles published as firsthand, eyewitness accounts |
Works of criticism and interpretation |
|
Public opinion polls |
Commentaries and treatises |
|
Speeches and oral histories |
Textbooks |
|
Original documents (birth certificates, property deeds, trial transcripts) |
Indexes and abstracts |
|
Research data, such as census statistics |
|
|
Official and unofficial records of organizations and government agencies |
|
|
Artifacts of all kinds, such as tools, coins, clothing, furniture, etc. |
|
|
Audio recordings, DVDs, and video recordings |
|
| Government documents (reports, bills, proclamations, hearings, etc.) | |
|
Patents |
|
| Technical reports | |
| Scientific journal articles reporting experimental research results |